DRAFT BAMBOO POLICY FOR KERALA STATE
1. INTRODUCTION
Bamboos are giant grasses, which grow in tropical, subtropical and mild temperate regions. India stands next to China in bamboo resources in the world. Of 111 genera and 1575 species of bamboos reported to occur in the world, 134 species belonging to 18 genera have been reported from India. Kerala part of the Western Ghats is one of the major diversity centres for bamboo species coming only next to the North-eastern region of the country. In Kerala, 25 species of bamboos have been recorded under seven genera among which five species come under the threatened category; four species have been recorded new to Kerala and two species newly described. This accounts for about 19 per cent of the total bamboos distributed in India and 95 per cent of the total species reported from peninsular India. Bamboos occur as an important associate in southern hilltops, tropical evergreen forests, moist teak-bearing forests and also dry bamboo breaks and reed (Ochlandra spp.) breaks. Bambusa bambos, Dendrocalamus strictus, Ochlandra travancorica and O. scriptoria are widely distributed throughout the State in their specific habitats.
Bamboo contributes substantially to the ecological, economic and social development. Ecologically, bamboo plays a critical role in soil and water conservation, the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, lowers light intensity and protects against ultraviolet rays. Its inherent ability to grow on marginal and wastelands makes it one of the preferred crops for greening the wastelands and degraded sites, conservation of soil and moisture and sequestration of carbon.
Bamboos are one of the versatile plant groups with multifarious uses and then meet many needs of the society. About 1500 documented traditional uses have been recorded for bamboo. Bamboo is a viable replacement for wood and industrial raw material for both traditional and modern sectors. The employment potential of bamboo is very high and the major work force involved are rural poor, especially women. About 432 million man days are provided by bamboo sector annually in India.
1.1 Resource Availability
At the national level, it is estimated that 13.47 million tonnes of bamboo are harvested annually and utilized for various purposes. In Kerala total stock of thorny bamboo (Bambusa bambos) in the forests has been estimated as 2.63 million tonnes. A study conducted in 1993-94 revealed that homesteads produced 0.107 million tones of bamboos. Bamboo and reeds extracted from forests were estimated as 0.146 and 0.088 million tonnes, respectively during 1997-98. Total availability of bamboo and reeds both from forests and homesteads accounts for 0.314 million tones during 1993-94, which is about 64 per cent of the total requirement (0.49 million tonnes) in the State. Furthermore, bamboo and reed extraction shows annual fluctuations due to a variety of reasons. For instance, the annual bamboo extraction varied between 0.080 million tonnes and 0.301 million tones, whereas the annual reed extraction fluctuated between 0.058 million tonnes and 0.106 million tonnes during the period from 1990 to 1998.
The Kerala Forest Department (KFD) and farmers are involved in managing the bamboo in natural forests and homesteads, respectively. Some attempts have been made to establish bamboo plantations. About 2673 ha of bamboo and 582 ha of reed plantations have been established up to 2000-01. Underplanting of bamboo in poor teak plantations and in natural forests was taken up from 1995 onwards and 100 ha were planted under this scheme by the Kerala Forest Department. Besides KFD, the Kerala Forest Development Corporation, a subsidiary of KFD, is also involved in raising bamboo plantations. In the homesteads, bamboos are grown partly for self consumption and partly for sale. However, not much information is available on bamboo species grown and extent in the homesteads in the State.
1.2 Distribution
Kerala Forest Department is the major agency involved in the extraction and supply of bamboo and reed from forest areas to traditional and modern industries. The Hindustan Newsprint Limited procured 0.054 million tones of bamboo and 0.051 million tones of reed during 2000-01. Bamboo and reed are supplied at a subsidized rate to paper and rayon pulp mills and free of charge to the Kerala State Bamboo Corporation (KSBC).
The mandate of KSBC is to ensure steady supply of raw material to the artisans. From 1977 onwards, the right to collect reeds from the forests was given to the Bamboo Corporation. The Corporation was also assigned the responsibility for supplying reeds to co-operative societies and traditional users such as small scale industry and bona fide consumers. KSBC extracts reed (O. travancorica and O. travancorica var. hirsuta) selectively (large diameter) by employing licensed cutters from forest areas prior to extraction by paper mills. The extracted reed is transported to various reed collection centres and thereafter to reed distribution centres.
1.3 Bamboo-based Industry
In Kerala, bamboo is used as a raw material in pulp and paper, bamboo ply and traditional industries. The pulp and paper and bamboo ply industry belongs to organized sector, while the traditional industry falls in the unorganized sector.
There were three pulp and paper units in Kerala, viz. Punalur Paper Mill, Gwalior Rayons and Hindustan Newsprint Limited (HNL) which used bamboo from forests as a raw material. Now only HNL is functioning and the other two units have been closed down. Due to the non availability of adequate quantity of bamboo from the forests, Hindustan Newsprint depends heavily on homesteads for meeting their bamboo requirement.
In Kerala, mat production out of reed is one of the earliest industrial activities in the traditional sector. In the past, household producers were forced to rely upon traders to market the mats. Social and economic backwardness coupled with their indebtedness to traders forced weavers to accept the price offered. In order to help the mat weavers, the state government established a state owned corporation, viz. Kerala State Bamboo Corporation (KSBC) in 1971. Mats and baskets are two important products of the house- hold industry. The KSBC procured 11496 tonnes of reed and through household sector, produced 70 million sq m of mat during the period 2000.
KSBC has put up a unit for the manufacture of bamboo ply, a panel product. The unit produces panels out of woven bamboo mats of finer variety. The unit used 20 million sq m of mat for making bambooply during the period 1999-2000.
Small-scale industries and co-operative societies depend mainly on the reed supplied by KSBC through their reed distribution centers. There are about 59 Societies/Small Scale Industries (SSI) of which many are not functioning. In adequate and poor quality of raw material and low income are some of the reasons for their decline. Most of the SSIs and co-operatives produce traditional mats and baskets that are sold in the local markets. However, there are a few units, which produce handicraft items.
1.4 Demand for Bamboo
Demand for bamboo in the State arises mainly from four sectors, viz. pulp, traditional, household and export to neighbouring States. Pulp industry is the major consumer of bamboo, followed by the traditional sector. The requirement of unorganized traditional sector is projected from the information obtained from Panchayat Registers. There are nearly 40,000 workers whose livelihood depends on bamboo. Their requirement is estimated as about 3 tonnes per year per person working out to 0.12 million tonnes. Another study projected the requirement of bamboo for household and sold out to neighbouring States as 0.107 million tones during 1993-94. The total requirement comes to about 0.49 million tonnes in 1993. Thus, any increase of workers or enhancing bamboo-based activities will escalate the demand further. In order to meet the current demand, the existing resource has to be at least doubled.
1.5. Bamboo Workers
KSBC has about 25,000 registered weavers, of these 60 per cent are women. Besides there are about 1500 reed cutters and 600 loading and unloading workers. In Kerala, it was estimated that about 300,000 people depend on bamboo for their livelihood. The workers in traditional reed industry generally belong to the socially and economically backward sections of the society. The workers of the Bamboo Corporation get more income than others and on an average, they get employment between 150 and 200 days per year. Others in the unorganized sector get only half of what the Corporation workers get. As a result, majority of the bamboo workers in the unorganized sector live below the poverty line. Shortage of raw material and poor marketing are two major problems of the workers in the sector.
1.6. Marketing
There is a well established bamboo wholesale market dominated by a few private depots in Palakkad District. The depots exclusively depend on bamboo from home gardens. Bambusa bambos is the species of bamboo collected and traded by these depots. During the last four decades, about 85 per cent of the annual quantity traded through the depots has been moving out of the State where the major use is as banana props. The bamboo market comprises of a chain of vertical interactions involving farmers/agents, wholesalers and final users. The price of bamboo received by the farmer is only 4 percent of its wholesale price. The existence of middlemen between farmers and consumers leads to pushing down the profit of the farmers, although there is a growing demand for bamboo.
The Bamboo Corporation sells the products produced by their workers to traders within and outside the state. In unorganised sector, the products are marketed directly to traders at the local market or to the households. The handicraft items are being mostly sold through government sponsored emporia, private traders and trade fairs. There is no mechanism to sell these products outside the state or abroad. Industries under modern sector have their own marketing mechanism for selling their products.
2. NEED FOR A BAMBOO POLICY
In India, recently a re-discovery of the potential of bamboo for developing it as one of the sunrise industries resulted in launching of an integrated bamboo development programme by the Prime Minister on 05 June 1999 with a view to focus on the development of bamboo sector. Subsequently, the Planning Commission, Government of India prepared an Action Plan to give maximum emphasis for promotion and development of bamboo during the Tenth Plan. The Action Plan proposed creation of 8.6 million jobs in the bamboo based development programmes to enable 5.01 million families to escape poverty on a sustainable basis, upgradation of skills of craftsperson, food and nutritional security through consumption of bamboo shoots, etc. for livelihood and nutritional security. The Action Plan also envisaged laying down a foundation of a modern bamboo economy with input from science and technology, people’s participation, industrial application and strong linkage with market capable of meeting global competition. In addition to the paper pulp industries, the potential of bamboo on other large-scale industries like bamboo shoot processing, bamboo based boards, flooring boards, furniture, new uses in building and road construction, etc. was also emphasized. Following the Planning Commission’s effort on bamboo sector development, the Minister of Science and Technology on Technology Day, 2002 established a National Mission on Bamboo Application (NMBA) under Technology, Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) , Department of Science and Technology to focus on the commercialisation of value added applications in the bamboo sector. Different State Governments have also taken initiative to develop bamboo sector on a commercial basis.
The Kerala State Planning Board prepared a proposal for the overall development of bamboo sector in Kerala as early as October 2000. As a result, the Kerala Government constituted the Kerala State Bamboo Mission in November 2003 with the aim of marshalling the scattered resources of the State and adopting a focused approach to revitalize the bamboo sector thereby promoting value addition, enhancing income generation and alleviating poverty.
As part of the activities of the Mission, work has already been initiated to
i. Promote cultivation of bamboo in selected Panchayats,
ii. Introduce mechanized means of primary bamboo processing,
iii. Impart training inputs to artisans, and
iv. Provide the artisan community with a platform for marketing their products.
Considering the major scope for development of bamboo in Kerala both as a raw material for the traditional handicraft sector as well as for modern industry, special programmes are to be developed for cultivation of bamboo, creation of new designs for innovative products in the handicrafts sector along with the appropriate skill development, promotion of bamboo-based modern industries supported by technology by R & D organisations. It is expected to facilitate to create greater employment opportunities at various levels, and improving the living standards of rural people thereby contributing to the overall growth of the sector and consequently economy of the State.
In Kerala, bamboos occur naturally in the forests as well as grown in the homesteads. In the past, bamboo was available in plenty in the forests. With the establishment of new industries, particularly pulp and paper industry in the last century, there has been a significant increase in demand for bamboos. This coupled with degradation of forests, gregarious flowering and poor regeneration and management, resulted in the depletion of this resource.
Bamboo was one of the important crops in the traditional agricultural setting where it was grown along with other crops for meeting the requirements of farming community. During the last four or five decades, there has been major changes in the cropping pattern in the homesteads mainly due to land use changes and societal needs for valuable crops. This was done at the expense of less valuable species like bamboo. Further, in the context of decline of supply of bamboo from the forests, the homesteads have become one of the major sources of supply of bamboo to the industrial sector. The increased demand and consequently soaring price led to large-scale unsustainable removal of bamboos from the homesteads, which further deepened the raw material problems in the industry. For instance, the paper industry which earlier used to depend cent percent on bamboo was compelled to manage with about 50 per cent bamboo and the balance by soft wood. The industry is forced to depend substantially on import long-fibre pulp spending significant amount of foreign exchange to maintain production level and the quality standard. Small scale and cottage industries are also affected due to the short supply. The demand and supply gap of bamboo in the state is estimated to be 0.18 million tonnes per year which constitutes about 36 per cent of the total requirements.
The sustainable development of this sector is imperative for overall development of the state. Bamboo has been planted under the National Afforestation Programme to feed industries like pulp and paper, to meet rural requirements and to reduce pressure on timber resources in the forests since 1980. But this programme has not made much headway in Kerala. In order to solve some of the pressing problems of the sector, raw material requirements of bamboo-based industry and also to match with the national policy on bamboo development, the state has to chalk out clear programmes/strategies, focusing on conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use, promotion of industrial development, livelihood security of the MARGINALISED bamboo dependents and environmental protection. This necessitates formulation of a comprehensive bamboo policy.
3. OBJECTIVES
Broadly the policy aims at sustainable development and utilization of bamboo resources in the State through scientific management and stakeholders’ participation. More specifically, the policy aims at:
i. Protection and conservation of biodiversity,
ii. Enhancement of resources through promotion of bamboo plantation in forest areas and wastelands,
iii. Promotion of bamboo cultivation in private lands as a commercial crop,
iv. Improvement of bamboo productivity by use of improved planting stock and scientific management practices,
v. Promotion of bamboo based industries at cottage, small, medium and large scale levels for utilizing the available resources at a sustainable level for generating assured income,
vi. Revival and promotion of traditional sector for producing handicrafts and other value added items. Promotion of product diversification and value addition items in the organized sector,
vii. Enhancing employment opportunity and livelihood security of the bamboo dependents at all levels through assured supply of raw materials and establishment of appropriate institutions,
viii. Improvement and promotion of traditional bamboo houses and establishment of modern bamboo houses, thereby reducing pressure on forests and wood deficiency in the state,
ix. Use of bamboo for environmental protection, greening up of degraded lands and other diversified activities such as watershed protection and river banks and as geotex in construction of roads and bridges,
x. Promotion of bamboo sector development as a part of rural development linked with forestry and agroforestry to enhance employment opportunities.
4. APPROACHES TO BAMBOO SECTOR DEVELOPMENT
To achieve the above objectives, the following approaches are suggested.
i. Creation and maintenance of database for sustainable management of bamboo resources and implementation of developmental programmes.
ii. Conservation of biodiversity, germplasm and genepool areas both in forest and non-forest areas.
iii. Sustainable management of bamboo resources and controlled harvesting.
iv. Promotion of bamboo resources in forests and non-forest areas by introducing high yielding species and scientific method of cultivation.
v. Emphasis on commercially viable bamboo plantations in private lands and improvement of productivity.
vi. Development of bamboo based industries through assured supply of raw materials and effective marketing.
vii. Improvement of livelihood security of the bamboo dependents, through increased employment opportunity and institutional support and skill development.
viii. Enactment of grower friendly rules and regulations regarding planting, harvesting and transportation.
ix. Large scale use in environmental protection, watershed development, and river bank protection.
x. Effective publicity and extension work for popularization of bamboo.
5. STRATEGIES
The areas in which detailed plans are to be formulated are given below.
5.1 Database Development
5.1.1 Planning for any natural resource enhancement requires a detailed up to date database and bamboo is not an exception. This will enable better understanding of resource availability which will be used for implementing new programmes in the sector. Database with regard to bamboo sector is poor. For instance, though we know homesteads contribute significant quantity of bamboos, no attempt has been made to assess the bamboo resources in non-forest areas in the State. Furthermore, information on the actual status of unorganized traditional workers is still wanting.
5.1.2 At present, research institutions dealing with bamboo research in the state have initiated the activity of preparation of a database. This shall be coordinated and further strengthened so as to provide information for the user agencies including bamboo growers and industrialists. Attempt shall also be made to get access to the international databases that are being developed by international agencies.
5.1.3 A museum to exhibit different bamboo products, culms of different bamboo species, herbarium and publications on bamboo also need to be established for public awareness.
5.2 Protection and Conservation of Biodiversity
5.2.1 All the species of bamboo available within and outside the state shall be collected and conserved in a bambusetum.
5.2.2 Germplasm collection shall be established and made available for conserving genetic diversity.
5.2.3 The flowering of bamboo shall be observed and recorded. Flowering cohorts of the same species may be mapped and cohorts collection established.
5.2.4 Genepool areas of bamboo shall be marked and protected with the participation of stakeholders for future use. Incentives shall be given by way of awards and soft loans to private cultivators for the conservation of biodiversity.
5.2.5 A Seed Storage unit needs to be established in the Kerala Forest Seed Centre of KFRI for collection and storage of bamboo seeds of commercial importance during gregarious flowering year.
5.3 Sustainable Management of Resources
5.3.1 A long term management plan for bamboo shall be prepared based on sustainable forest management principles and this may be implemented with the help of stakeholders.
5.3.2 The existing bamboo resources in the forest areas and public lands shall be managed on scientific basis. The felling rules prescribed by the Kerala Forest Department shall be strictly enforced in the harvesting of the bamboo and reeds.
5.3.3 As part of the management plan and also to meet the requirement of all the stakeholders, annual bamboo harvest and yield need to be predetermined taking into account felling regulations, seasonal requirement and market need in consultation with all the stakeholders so that the bamboo resources are optimally harvested on sustainable basis.
5.3.4 Bamboo brakes are quite often prone to fire. Thus, prevention of fire in bamboo areas is one of the strategies for effective management of this resource. This can be effectively carried out with the participation of people for which a portion of the benefits shall be allotted to them.
5.3.5 The Vana Samrakshana Samithies (VSS) under the Participatory Forest Management Programmes may be given a lead role in the management of bamboo resources in forest areas. They shall be encouraged to grow bamboo in the degraded areas and manage the existing resources. Rules shall be prepared for sharing the benefits for undertaking this task.
5.3.6 Encouragement shall be given to farmers to grow bamboo in their homesteads by way of soft loans, better marketing facilities, training, etc. Proper price fixation shall be done by the planning authorities at the time of decline of market price.
5.4 Resource Enhancement
5.4.1 Economically important bamboo species in terms of productivity and end uses, which can be grown in Kerala, shall be identified with the help of research institutions and attempts made to introduce in the State.
5.4.2 Planting stock of commercially important species shall be developed from the existing bamboo collections available with the research institutions. Both convention and tissue culture methods will be used for production of planting stock. Model multiplication nurseries shall be set up and training to persons or institutions proposed to set up their own nurseries shall be provided.
5.4.3 Agencies which are proposed to take up bamboo multiplication nurseries shall be identified through contact or advertisement in media. Suitable locations shall be selected and necessary technical knowhow and mother stock shall be provided to the selected people. One Panchayat from each district shall be selected and Krishi Bhavan officials trained in nursery technology. Attempts shall also be made to establish joint venture nurseries between the agencies and research institutions. Research institutions and Agricultural University shall provide all the technical help and monitor the development of nurseries until they are established.
5.4.4 Different agencies like Kerala Forest Department, Kerala Forest Development Corporation, Kerala State Bamboo Corporation, Paper Mills, farmers, Voluntary Organizations, Nature Clubs, Krishi Bhavans, NGOs, etc. shall take the responsibility to distribute planting materials and planting of bamboos.
5.4.5 Plantation of selected bamboo species required by the artisans and small scale industries shall be raised with people’s participation. in the homesteads, forest land and community lands. The required technical and scientific support for scientific management of plantations shall be provided by the agricultural and forest departments and research institutions in the State. Some of the plantations may be at commercial scale.
5.5 Development of bamboo-based industries
5.5.1 Lack of assured supply of raw materials is the major problem for development of bamboo-based industries in the State. Annual supply of bamboo from the forests and non-forest areas shall be estimated. Existing institutions such as Bamboo Corporation shall be strengthened to collect bamboo from non-forest areas and to ensure regular supply of bamboos to various stakeholders. .
5.5.2 Considering resource availability, diversified products and scale of production, attempts shall be made to reorganize/develop bamboo-based industries at three levels. The first level shall comprise cottage units. Individual families or neighbourhood groups shall form cottage units and women can play a major role. Panchayats shall facilitate raw material procurement and marketing (village/ local fairs).
5.5.3 The second level shall consist of semi-mechanized and Small Scale Industrial (SSI) units. The prospective entrepreneurs shall take initiative. The Government shall facilitate by providing single window clearance and also in procuring loans from financial institutions.
5.5.4. Mechanized units shall come under level three. The prospective entrepreneurs shall take initiative to set up units with high investment and even with foreign participation. K-Bip shall play a major role in facilitating the transfer of technology. To start with Pilot Bamboo processing zones shall be established which shall facilitate setting up units in the Export Processing Zones.
5.5.5. Bamboo product testing laboratory shall be set up to certify various bamboo products by testing as per national and international standards.
5.6 Livelihood Security of the Bamboo Dependents
5.6.1 Livelihood security of the marginalized bamboo workers, by and large, depends upon availability of continuous employment, which in turn is dependent on an assured supply of raw materials. Bamboo depots shall be set up adjacent to clusters and locations to sell bamboo at subsidized rate to artisans and cottage industries in the unorganized sector (excluding Bamboo Corporation).
5.6.2 To facilitate sale of their products, an appropriate institution shall be set up for marketing of their products.
5.7. Enactment of Grower Friendly Rules and Regulation
5.7.1 Crop mixing by the farmer in their farms depends, to a great extent, on relative profitability of the crops. Generally, bamboo being a forestry crop, cannot compete with many of the agricultural crops as the latter receive many incentives like subsidy, support price, etc. In this circumstance, in order to popularise bamboo, in the homesteads, it shall be treated as an agricultural crop and extended all support to compete with other crops.
5.7.2 The present regulations governing bamboo movement from homesteads shall be revised to promote the bamboo sector in the State. Restrictions on harvesting and marketing of bamboo grown in non-forest land shall be relaxed and procedures made stakeholder friendly.
5.7.3 To facilitate the transportation of homestead-grown the Panchayaths shall maintain a bamboo register which shall contain details like species, number of clumps, location, etc. The bamboo farmers shall register with the panchayath.
5.8. Environmental protection
5.8.1 Considering the significances of bamboo in environmental protection bamboo planting shall be promoted along the riverbanks especially in catchment areas to prevent soil erosion and run off and also in degraded areas to conserve soil and water.
5.9. Skill development
5.9.1 Design and product development institutions like National Institute of Design and Industrial Design Center (IIT, Bombay) shall be involved in imparting training to the craftsmen to improve their skills and make value added products.
5.9.2 Training programmes shall be organized for farmers, artisans, craftsmen, etc. in the following areas:
i. Awareness on the potential of bamboo and benefits of bamboo cultivation.
ii. Nursery and plantation technology
iii. Species of bamboos suitable for different end uses.
iv. Processing of bamboo for value addition (traditional and mechanized),
v. Hand tools and semi-mechanized machines
vi. Bamboo craft and product design (weaving, carpentry, etc),
vii. Preservation techniques for bamboo and bamboo products.
5.9.3 Entrepreneurship Development Parks/Industrial Training Centers shall be set up to promote entrepreneurship and providing training. Capacity building training shall be provided to develop skills and knowledge in the manufacture of industrial and handicraft products.
5.9.4 The Common Facility Centers with machines like cross cutting, splitting, slivering, rod making, etc. shall be set up in each district. These machines shall be made available to artisans and SSI Units.
5.9.5 The craftsmen shall be exposed to the modern trends in bamboo products by participating in exhibitions and tradefares at national level to enable them to improve their skills as well as facilitate marketing of their products. This will also enable them to get orders for their products and increase their product range.
5.10. Scientific Input and Research Activities
5.10.1 The state has strong science and technology base and there are a number of institutions which are involved with the bamboo research to promote focused research on bamboo. The State Government shall make necessary budget provisions for R & D components.
5.10.2. Since most of the bamboo species do not flower regularly, planting stock is produced by vegetative propagation using conventional techniques like rooting of stem cuttings. Some of the research institutions shall be strengthened to produce planting stock in large scale by modern techniques like tissue culture for selected bamboo species.
5.10.3 Species suitable for production of edible shoots shall be identified and promoted for cultivation and commercialization.
5.10.4 .Suitable species for growing in difficult sites like saline, water-logged, dry, rocky and swampy areas shall be identified. For this, species trials shall be laid out in collaboration with the panchayaths, research institutions and Kerala Forest Department in respective areas. Also, information, management practices followed, productivity of different species, soil, climatic factors and elevation in various sites shall be compiled.
5.11. Publication and Awareness
5.11.1 The potential of bamboo in handicrafts, housing and industry shall be popularized through media. Seminars and workshops shall also be organized to interact with farmers, policy makers, architects, etc., to make them aware of the potential of bamboo and bamboo products. Model bamboo houses with modern amenities shall be constructed at different locations for demonstration and popularisation..
5.11.2. As a part of popularization of bamboo, school and college students shall be made aware of the importance of bamboo. Different activities like bamboo planting, bamboo craft, etc. shall be introduced as extra curricular activities in schools and colleges.
5.11.3 Syllabus and training models shall be developed for incorporating bamboo as a building/structural material in civil engineering and architecture courses in the Engineering Colleges and Polyechnics.
5.11.4 The Government shall include bamboo as a construction material in its housing scheme and make quality bamboo available for construcion purpose.
5.11.5. Kerala Tourism Development Corporation shall put up bamboo kiosks, huts and cottages in important places of tourism to show the potential of bamboo for such uses. Also Tourism Department shall put up stalls for sale of bamboo products at appropriate places.
6 INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT TO IMPLEMENT BAMBOO POLICY
To implement various programmes mentioned in the policy, the following institutional and administrative measures shall be taken up.
6.1. Bamboo Development Board (BDB):
The main aim of this body shall be to oversee and co-ordinate all the activities to implement the bamboo policy. Major function of this Board shall be to help concerned agencies to implement programmes laid down in the bamboo policy and to advise Government on all matters related to bamboo.
The Board shall consist of Industries Minister, Forest Minister, Member, State Planning Board & Chairman of Kerala State Bamboo Mission, Secretaries of Industries, Forest, Agriculture, Planning and Science and Technology Departments, PCCF, Kerala Forest Department, Chairman, Bamboo Corporation, Directors, KFRI, TBGRI, Two industrialists and two NGOs.
6.2. Bamboo Promotion Council
The Bamboo Promotion Council (BPC) shall be chaired by the Industries Secretary, Government of Kerala. BPC shall have representatives from the State Planning Board, KSIDC, Kerala Forest Department, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Kerala Agricultural University, Kerala State Bamboo Corporation, Industries Department, industrialists, entrepreneurs, NGOs, and stakeholders like farmers, artisans, etc. The functions of the BPC shall be as follows:
i. To act as facilitator for the various interest groups
ii. To identify various activities for the promotion of bamboo development in the State and recommend to the BDB/Government.
iii. To prepare action plan for bamboo promotion.
iv. To scrutinize and approve bamboo development proposals.
v. To monitor necessary follow up actions
Conclusion
This policy focuses on sustainable development of bamboo sector in Kerala with the active participation of stakeholders. The major pillars of this policy are sustainable management of existing bamboo resources in forest areas, plantations and in the homesteads, resource enhancement both in the forests and homesteads with the participation of stakeholders, better distribution of bamboo resources to the user groups and setting up bamboo-based industries. The policy suggests establishment of appropriate institutions, scientific management and marketing, linkage between production and utilisation, industrial development, proper pricing, preferential treatment of bamboos in the forests and homesteads, formulation and implementation of grower friendly rules and regulations on growing, harvesting, transporting and marketing and appropriate publicity, research and extension.
Implementation of strategies laid out in the policy would pave the way for sustainable development of the bamboo sector and livelihood of peoples dependent on bamboos in Kerala as follows.
The bamboo policy will
i. Promote food security, ecological security, livelihood and economic security to rural artisans and industrial workers.
ii. Expose bamboo sector to research, technology, improved management and industrial as well as craft specific value addition in bamboo products.
iii. Enhance bamboo resources to meet the raw material requirement for traditional and modern sectors.
iv. Develop modern bamboo economy based on Science and Technology, entrepreneurs, People’s participation, Industrial application, and
v. Build strong linkage with market capable of meeting international standards to compete in the global market.
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Kerala bamboo Mission invites suggestions, recommendations and modifications on the above Draft Bamboo Policy from the Stakeholders in the bamboo sector. Contact us at : -
Kerala Bamboo Mission,
Kerala Bureau of Industrial Promotion,
Kurup’s Lane
Sasthamangalam, Trivandrum.
Tel - 0471- 2311882/2311883
E-mail – bureau@vsnl.com
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