BAMBOO: Poor Man’s Gold

1. BAMBOO: Poor Man’s Gold “Bestow upon us a hundred Bamboo clumps” -Rig Veda

2. CONTENTS: • Characteristics • Supply • Demand • Policy & Legislation • Livelihood • Environment • Case Studies • Recommendations

3. Characteristics • Tree like, woody grass • 136 species ( 36 genera in India) • Versatile & highly renewable resource • Short Growth cycle (commercially imp species mature in 4-5yrs) Up to 30 days - BB shoots as food B/w 6-9 months - for basketry B/w 2-3 yrs -for laminates &boards B/w 3-6 years - for construction • Source of Energy • Hardy, Light and flexible sought for nutritional and environmental value

4. TRIVIA Polo balls made from BB rhizome A bicycle Artificial teeth Mahatma Gandhi set out on his famous Dandi march armed with his conviction and BB stave! Taiwanese comp launched first ever laptop with outer casing made from BB Edison success -fully used a carbonized BB filament in his experiment with the first light bulb A. Bell’s first phonograph needle was made of BB Some species of BB grow @ 1.5 m/day Tensile Strength of Bamboo is greater than that o mild steel Hiroshima , 1945: BB provides first re-greening after atom bomb blasts Limon, Costa Rica: Only BB houses from the National BB Project survive violent earthquake of 1992

5. Supply Side • Area: 8.96 m ha ( 12.8% of forest area) • 28% of area and 66% of growing stock of bamboo in NE region  • 20% of area and 12% of growing stock in MP & Chattisgarh • Grows in all parts of India except Kashmir valley • Second Richest country after China in Bamboo resources  Availability of Bamboo  • Growing Stock: 80.43 m MT, • Annual Harvest: 13.5 m MT (demand: 27 m MT)

6. Supply Issues • Poor management and low productivity ( forest areas: 1tonne/ha of avg. production • Large bamboo forests under protected areas with no harvesting • Ban on felling and restriction on use in many districts • Lack of intensive management • Overexploitation, fires, grazing • Flowering patterns

7. Demand Side • 1500 documented uses • Wood Substitutes & Composites/ Industrial Use & Products/ Food products/ Construction & Structural Applications • India’s Share in current for BB : Rs. 2043/ 50, 000 cr* • Bamboo industry can grow to Rs. 16,000 cr by 2012 and Rs. 26,000 cr by 2015 • The industry is expected to earn about USD 5.7 bn in revenues by 2015 • India looking at capturing 27% of this market

8. SWOT ANALYSIS

9. Demand & Supply POLICYENVIRONMENT • Shortfall in supply even for current demand • Location of industry away from growing areas • Unscientific and Inefficient use • Shortage of quality bamboo or sustained supply • Paper & Pulp ind. Importing wood pulp worth Rs. 3500 cr • Illegal Smuggling to Bangla. and Mymr. & Nepal – Rs.255cr

10. Policy Features

11. Most bamboo is located on government owned lands, Government ownership of forests has been well established in both forest laws and policies. • Forest Dept : 93% Revenue Dept: 4 % Private landowners: 3% of forest area • On its land govt pays unskilled day laborers to manage 4-year rotations of BB • Amendment of the 1988 Forest Act, the government restricted the role of the private sector on government forestlands. • FP 1988 shifted it key focus of promoting forest industry and extraction of natural resources to almost exclusively being managed for ecological services and meeting community needs • Only local communities are currently treated as stakeholders in managing govt forests and have now been granted rights to NTFP* • Government introduced the Joint Forest Management (JFM) program- bamboo forestlands have not been brought under JFM • Since granting greater authority to communities necessarily entails a reduction in power by the state there has been bureaucratic resistance

12. State Wise Study Index of Regulation • Prior to 1976 forests a State Subject, now in Concurrent • Most states have Primary Acts on forests modeled on IFA or rules with the IFA as the primary reference • use and management of pvt BB forests is governed either by separate Private Forest Acts or by provisions in the State Forest Acts • 10/ 19 states have State Laws/ Acts for Pvt. Forests • 2 States -Andhra Pradesh & Sikkim do not follow definitional pattern of IFA • Nagaland is a spcl. case-majority forests are pvt. Forests. All regulatory req.s have been removed

13. Implications Politicians • Potential largely unrealized under this set-up • Unorganized Subsistence BB economy • Productivity in govt owned forests is lower than potential compared to other countries & that in homesteads • Policies Distort incentives: Cost of 1 Pole of Dendrocalamus Strictus: Rs.10 Cost on reaching Hyderabad City: Rs. 40/Pole • BB has to compete with other agricultural/ food crops which are subsidized / Inferior good • existing restrictions limit the effort and input provided by the owners to increase the productivity of pvt. lands PEOPLE Industry ForestDept. Why MoEF could oppose lifting of restrictions: Could encourage illegal felling & extraction from govt. forests Loss of royalty

14. New Approach • Earlier BB was considered a minor forest product compared to wood and therefore did not receive the kind of support from government as other forest res • Mission Approach adopted- National Bamboo Mission • Micro Missions under different Ministries. Important among them- • M.M on Technology Development/ Policy/ Marketing/ Trade& Development • Requires a mammoth coordination effort • Overlapping Jurisdictions • 25 different institutions including 5 ministries have been roped in • Underlying Forest management system also needs to change

15. Livelihood CurrentStatus Targets and Issues Unavailibility of raw materials for artisans & NTFP for forest dependent communities Cross Subsidization of poor Traditional communities moving away from BB Crafts Can generate employment or unskilled, semi skilled and skilled workers Target was 8.6 mn jobs (new) and uplifting 5.01 mn BPL families New Bamboo Plantations ( forest and non forest areas) In the long run establishment of new industries can generate employment to 50 mn people • Bamboo Sector generates 432 Mn workdays annually • Bamboo based handicrafts employs 10 million people • Women constitue a majority of the map weaving and Bamboo crafts work • Bamboo mat production in India generates 3 mn workdays annually • Out of 68 million tribal population, 50% depend on NTFPs for their livelihood requirement • Traditional uses- support agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, sericulture and in small industries

16. Environment Uses Benefits Offset climate change factors* Rehabilitation of degraded land, controlling landslides, floods, protection of sea banks, riverbanks, damsites etc. Can be used for Watershed development As a substitute for wood- will mitigate pressure on natural forests New innovative bamboo products can replace products made from non biodegradable material Ensure nutritional security for rural people Clean renewable source of energy • Reduces Carbon Dioxide levels in the atmosphere* • Lowers light intensity, protects against UV rays- acts as atmospheric and soil purifier • Versatile high yield renewable natural resource • Substitute for wood- grows faster, less water req. • Prevents soil erosion • Food source, has anti tioxidant medicinal value • Source of energy- foremost in Biomass prodn. ( burnt directly) or gasification of Bamboo

17. CASE STUDY: China • Recognized as Kingdom of Bamboo • 5 mn ha of Bamboo resources • Total Bamboo production value over US $ 6 billion (export value- US $ 600 mn)* • First mover Advantage • Result of 4 decades of efforts • Post 1985 old system of state procurement abolished • Mkt for BB opened completely prices determined by SS & DD • Export & pvt enterprise culture • Facilitate formation of Dragon head enterprises • Bamboo industry zones

18. Development Sequence

19. Comparative Study

21. Case Study: States • BB based livelihood, the Sindhudurg Model ( Konkan region, Maharashtra): Traditional BB working communities are SCs • Widespread use of plastic has reduced demand and limited opportunities • Dev of BB based craft & Ind. Requires relatively low capital, raw material, tools and machinery inv. Compared to other handicraft activities • Konkan Bamboo& Cane Dev Centre ( KONBAC) & Univ Dept of Life Sciences, Univ of Mumbai Initiated a community based BB dev Prog. • Estb. & demonstration of • 1 Community - based BB treatment Plant • BB Furniture Manufacturing Unit • BB based marketing Hubs ( BAMHU) • Passenger Resting Shade at Ratnagiri Rlwy. Station • First ever All BB Resort

22. Case Study: States • Tamil Nadu Contract Farming Model: Mismatch of demand and Supply at Paper mills lead to massive wood pulp import. • TN Newsprint and Papers ( TNPL) initiated farm and agroforestry programmes through tri and quad partite models • A contract in this case is an agreement btw growers & processors. CF is viewed to benefit user agency by ensuring sustained raw material supply • In the age of liberalization & Globalization there is a danger that small scale farmers will find it difficult to fully participate in the market economy. In many cases small farmers could be marginalized as large farms become more profitable • Involves increasing area under farm and forestry plantation through industrial participation • Key reasons for failure of industrial plantation schemes are non involvement of local people, lack of assured buy back and minimal support price • This constraint can be overcome through contract farming system

23. Research Ins.

24. CASE STUDY: (APIL) Features Lessons Procedural impediments must go Systematic not piecemeal approach to be adopted Takes care of demand supply problem local entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihood opportunities for local populace E.g. Agreement to procure mats from 38 villages in Nagaland ( earlier supplying 700->10,000 units/month Req. of 1 lakh mats can generate employment to 33,000 persons ( 90% of mat makers are women) More than 100% value addition in Splint manufacturing units • Converted from Plywood factory to BB board manufacturing unit • 1996 (Ban on timber by SC) • FIPPI agreed to convert it into a bamboo board industry • Faced numerous procedural handicaps • Factory closed 18 times during conversion process due to different interpretations of the SC order by different forest officers • Functioned regularly from 2006 intervention by PC • Ancillary units in remote villages with a buyback arrangement

25. CASE STUDY: Individuals Community level manufacturing facilities ( for incense sticks) generate 1 mn man days/ annum Annual turnover of Rs.16 crore Fetches revenue of Rs. 18,000 per tonne as against Rs. 500 per tonne realized from pulp and paper mills • Andhra Pradesh Community Forest Management (APCFM) project • Implemented by the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department (APFD), with funding support from the World Bank • 50.000 ha of degraded BB forests targeted for treatment . Target exceeded by 10 %

26. I am the Vice Chairperson Van SamrakshanaSamithi (VSS) in Chinthapally village of Adilabad District (Andhra Pradesh). I am one of 91 women members. I earn Rs. 50-60/ day making agarbathi sticks from bamboo slats. This arrangement suits me as I can supplement the household income working at my own pace and completing my household chores too. Importantly the correct wages are paid regularly… …The opportunity to generate income legally from forest produce has created a vested interest for the community to nurture and maintain the forests. This inturn has extended the State’s forest management capacity to such an extent that it is keen to create more VSSs& CFCs… Muthamma now has a regular income, which she now earns from the security of her neighbourhood and her home, a life of dignity

27. Hi, my name is Arif. I work at the at the Common Facility Centre (CFC) in Mancherial, Andhra Pradesh. I had spent a year idling after college before this opportunity came along. A four month training period later I was ready to start making bamboo slats on a regular basis. These slats are supplied to the women from nearby VSSs for making agarbatti sticks. I earn Rs. 150 on a good day and about Rs. 100 on a regular day. Though the work gets repititve and also leads to backaches sometimes I am proud to be helping in the upkeep of my six member family… There are many young men like me here, who used to migrtae to urban areas earlier in search of work. We would end up mostly underemployed or in worst case indulge in unlawful activities in desperation.

28. The Van SamrakshanaSamithi (VSS), of which I am the Chairperson, was constituted with the formal consent of more than half the families in Rawanpally village, in Kagaznagar, Andhra Pradesh. It was selected to be developed as a model village under the APCFM project. Of the total 88 VSSs in Kagaznagar Division, Rawanpally is one of the 24 that use bamboo for income generation. Bamboo has provided the women a productive and remunerative leisure time activity of agarbatti stick making. All able-bodied VSS members lend their muscles and traditional knowledge for the upkeep of the forest. Trenching, earth moulding, pit digging, planting, pruning…they have work round the year. Another opportunity to work and earn in the vicinity of their homes. Rawanpally VSS is fully into forest maintenance and conservation. “Wherever parts of the forest have been handed over to the villagers for conservation, they have developed a sense of ownership

29. CASE STUDY: Communities • Bamboo artisan communities of Chattisgarh – Kandra & Basod (ST) • Issued Bamboo Ration Card for getting BB from govt. at lower rates • Articles like Mats, hats, baskets etc. • They sell items themselves in Local weekly markets or through whole sellers and retailers • Most shift away from BB handicraft Production as a source of livelihood • Shortage &Poor quality of BB supplied on cards and high prices of BB available in the market are factors • Use of outdated and very laborious technologies & lack of proper & systematic marketing channels

30. The North-East Bamboo Flowering Flowering of Melocanna bacciefera , Bambusa Tulda & Dendrocalamus longispathus in North East with its epicentre in Mizoram Cycle of 48 years. The BB dies after flowering. Regeneration is a problem Last occurred in 1959 lead to famine Expected to reoccur btw 2004-07 26 MT ( of which 10 MT accessible) will be available if harvested before flowering failure of the then Assam Govt. to adequately respond to the demands of famine relief requirements which resulted in insurgency in Mizoram

31. Policies Status & Potential Reviving Closed Paper & Plywood Factories BB Shoot industry great export potential Mostly non-clump forming BB Smuggled BB can fetch 2.6 times the value of raw BB Special BB zone : Boost to local handicrafts ( tribals) & new age items • BAFFACOS, a five-year programme • Early Harvesting of BB • Rodent Control • Agricultural Diversification • The Govt of Mizoram declared the Mautam as a disaster in 2007 • lifting of ban on export of muli bamboo & removal of harvesting and Felling restrictions on Forest and Non forest areas in NE • The Achievement Report on BAFFACOS at variance with ActionAid Study • Accusations of Corruption and Misreporting. Sporadic protests

32. “QUOTE UNQUOTE” “Bamboo Sector has to be ‘liberalised’ and it should be treated as a plantation and Horticulture crop without any restriction on its movement and felling for commercial purposes”***“Bamboo is often called the ‘Orphan’ crop as in the Government no Department or Agency has taken up its potential in a holistic manner”*** Planning Commission, 2003

33. Way Ahead... Allow forces of demand and supply to operate Undertake market complementary interventions Incentivise prod Remove informational asymmetries Facilitate expansion of markets ( incl promoting exports) Result: EFFICIENT OUTCOME Indicator: Productivity and opportunities not lost ( DD-SS gaps) Improve on outcome by incorporating livelihood and env. concerns Contract Farming: provide people friendly legal framework Tribal Artisan communities/ Forest dependent: R&D activities to allow them to access markets & develop new products, introduce best practices Result: EFFICIENT & EQUITABLE OUTCOME Indicator: Employment levels, Poverty alleviation, Resource situation ,(relevant sections)

34. Recommendations • Supply

35. Recommendations

36. Thank you!