X-From_: tgray  Wed Nov 11 09:54:49 1992
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.biosph-l
Date:         Wed, 11 Nov 1992 09:54:52 PST
Reply-To:     Tom Gray <tgray@IGC.APC.ORG>
Comments:     Resent-From: Tom Gray <tgray@igc.apc.org>
Comments:     Originally-From: Tom Gray <tgray@igc.apc.org>
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From:         Tom Gray <tgray@IGC.APC.ORG>
Subject:      IPS: Bamboo Species Threatened

/* Written 12:06 am  Oct 26, 1992 by newsdesk@igc.apc.org in igc:ips.englibrary
*/
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: ASIA: Bye-bye, bamboo ?


an inter press service feature

by isagani de castro

los banos, philippines, oct 23 (ips) -- the bamboo is one of the
world's fastest growing plants, but it does not seem to be
growing fast enough to prevent the rising demand of asia's
swelling population from driving it to the brink of extinction.

many of the 1,200 bamboo species distributed in south and
south-east asia are now endangered.

asians are voracious bamboo users. its shoots are a common
ingredient in chinese and japanese cuisine, two-thirds of the
pulp used for india's paper industry comes from bamboo, and in
south asia bamboo scaffoldings are widely used in the
construction industry.

across south-east asia, fishermen make rafts and fishpens out
of bamboo poles, and rice farmers use them for drying paddy. they
are also used as props for banana plantations.

india has by far the most bamboo forests in asia, with over
1.3 million hectares. burma, thailand, cambodia, laos and vietnam
are the other countries where wild bamboo is prevalent.

the growing demand for bamboo furniture worldwide has also put
extra pressure on asia's dwindling bamboo forests.

but although this versatile tree-like grass can grow even in
poor soils and areas of low rainfall, bamboo forests are
shrinking because conservation measures have not kept pace.

in the philippines, for instance, official estimates show that
the total area covered by bamboo went down from 200,000 hectares
to only 7,924 hectares in the last 60 years.

wild bamboo production dropped from 1.7 million pieces in 1979
to only 647,000 in 1981. a paper mill near manila was forced to
close in the 1970's due to the scarcity of bamboo.

now, the united nations development program (undp) and the
rome-based food and agriculture organisation (fao) are helping
countries like the philippines to save endangered bamboo forests
and raise plantations to meet demand.

the bamboo research and development project has tried to
develop new technologies to make it easier to plant and protect
bamboo trees. by sharing this technology with farmers, fao hopes
to create new jobs and raise income levels in rural areas.
(more/ips)
(story received incomplete)
0578
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