11th World Bamboo Day (WBD) was observed on September 18, 2020 to increase the awareness of Bamboos globally by the World Bamboo Organization (WBO). The Theme for this edition of World Bamboo Day is “BAMBOO NOW”.
On Occasion of World Bamboo Day, a virtual Bamboo Festival was held by WBO to explore and exhibit Bamboo as a sustainable green material.
The World Bamboo Day is observed annually on September 18. It was established by Mr. Kamesh Salam, Former President of World Bamboo Organization, during the 8th World Bamboo Congress (WBC) at Prachan Buri, Bangkok, Thaïland in 2009.
Festival Organizers:
The Festival was organised by India-Taiwan Global Tech Forum in association with South Asia Bamboo Foundation, The National Institute of Design (NID), The Assam Valley School (AVS), Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), National Cheng Chung University, Taiwan, Nagaland Bamboo Development Agency, and many civil societies from across 15 countries.
Bamboo & India:
i.Around 80 percent of Bamboo Forests lie in Asia with India, China and Myanmar having 19.8 million hectares of Bamboo. India’s Northeast consists of 60% of India’s Reserve of Bamboo.
ii.India is the world’s second largest cultivator of Bamboo (after China). It has 136 species and 23 genera spread over 13.96 million hectares, but its share in global bamboo trade and commerce is just 4 per cent.
iii.The Restructured National Bamboo Mission was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in April, 2018 with an outlay of Rs. 1, 290 crores for 2 years.
iv.The NBM will increase the area under bamboo plantation in non-forest Government and private lands to supplement farm income as well as availability of quality raw material requirement of industries.
Importance of Bamboo:
i.According to the State of India’s Environment 2017, 30 percent of India’s land is degraded. Bamboo has the unique ability to stitch and repair damaged soils and is ideal for rehabilitating degraded soil.
ii.The Cultivation of more Bamboos will have an impact in reclaiming degraded land as well as Greening India Programme.
Recent Related News:
i.On May 3 2020, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS Prime Minister Office, Dr Jitendra Singh participated in the Bamboo Conclave through Video Conference. The aim of the conference was to discuss the importance of Bamboo, which will provide an opportunity for India to emerge as an economic power post COVID-19.
ii.With an objective to promote “Vocal for Local with Global outreach”, Rs 10,000 crore schemes have been launched by the government. It would focus on the particular produce of a region to boost its production, marketing and health and safety standards. Mango in Uttar Pradesh (UP), kesar in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), bamboo shoots in North-East, chilli in Andhra Pradesh, tapioca in Tamil Nadu.
About World Bamboo Organization:
President – Michel Abadie
Headquarters – Boston, Massachusetts (United States)
