World Bamboo Day 2024 observed

On the occasion of World Bamboo Day 2024 an interaction programme was organized in Kathmandu on Wednesday. Minister of Forests and Environment of Government of Nepal Ain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri participated in the event as a chief guest. Experts and professionals discussed on the theme “One Bamboo: Many Benefits” based on the original slogan of “#Next Generation Bamboo: Solution, Innovation and Design. The event was organized by Family Private Forest Association, Nepal, Green Foundation Nepal and Natural Resources Women’s Rights Forum (WRRN).

Minister Shahi Thakuri said that Nepal Government will formulate effective plans and programmes to plant bamboo at appropriate locations to support soil conservation, reduce landslides, support climate actions and also to support employment opportunities. Since bamboo is a fast growing plant with multiple benefits including environmental and its potential role in reducing carbon emissions, bamboo will be taken well in Governmental plans and programmes, he added.

Bamboo is known to be one of the most sustainable plants in the world. It requires minimal water, fertiliser, or pesticides and grows extraordinarily quickly—up to three feet in a single day at times. Because of these reasons, bamboo is considered a low-impact crop that doesn’t damage the environment when it is harvested frequently.

Bamboo is known as the “wonder plant” for a variety of reasons. It is used in buildings, furniture, food, textiles, and environmental preservation. The World Bamboo Organization (WBO) established World Bamboo Day in 2009 to raise awareness about bamboo’s huge potential as an environmentally friendly resource on a worldwide scale.

Accounting for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions, building construction and operations are at the forefront of climate change mitigation efforts. Bamboo, known as the fastest-growing woody fiber, offers a high yield per hectare and superior carbon sequestration capabilities compared to traditional wood.

World Bamboo Day is more than just a celebration – it’s a call to action. This year marks the 15th anniversary of recognizing bamboo’s significance and the vast potential it holds for our planet. Bamboo has proven to be a powerful resource with incredible benefits for the environment, economy, and society. In many regions where bamboo grows naturally, it has been a daily essential for centuries. However, overexploitation has sometimes led to unsustainable practices.

As the world increasingly turns to sustainable materials, bamboo has emerged as a key player in reducing carbon emissions in the construction industry. Accounting for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions, building construction and operations are at the forefront of climate change mitigation efforts. Bamboo, known as the fastest-growing woody fiber, offers a high yield per hectare and superior carbon sequestration capabilities compared to traditional wood.

Bamboo is not only a renewable resource but also a solution for combating climate change, restoring degraded lands, and creating economic opportunities in communities across the globe. This World Bamboo Day, it is high time for people across the globe to create awareness about the importance of bamboo, whether through local events, educational programs, or creative initiatives.

The WBO says, “Together we can showcase bamboo’s potential, protect natural resources, and pave the way for a greener, more sustainable future. Celebrate World Bamboo Day with us, and be part of this global movement!”

The World Bamboo Organization (WBO) is dedicated to changing that narrative by promoting the sustainable use of bamboo and encouraging its cultivation for innovative industries worldwide.

Bamboo, also known as “poor man’s timber,” is one of Nepal’s most significant forest species and is widely distributed through the country. Bamboo resources have tremendous social, cultural, and ecological implications, suggesting a need for further investigation and exploration. The majority of past studies have focused on the socio-economic and ethno-botanical aspects of bamboo in parts of Nepal but the ecological information and research statistics for bamboo, as well as its contribution to Nepalese communities, are still unexplored. This study reviewed the existing literature, and was supported by our research experience on the bamboo resource in Nepal.

Various studies say that bamboo forests offer similar ecosystem services to those of other forests or grasslands, including natural forests, planted forests, grasslands, and agricultural lands. However, assessing the ecosystem services provided by bamboo can be challenging due to its diverse growth patterns. Bamboo can grow as a monoculture, as part of mixed-species forests, or as scattered clumps on agricultural land, each of which may provide different ecosystem services. Additionally, bamboo’s growth habit and management practices can also affect the delivery of ecosystem services. Nepal, being a biodiversity hotspot nation, has 75 unique vegetation types and more than 6000 species of flowering plants. Among them, 12 genera and more than 53 species of bamboo have been found in. Bamboos are native to Nepal’s three main ecological zones: the Terai, the hills, and the mountains. Bamboos are distributed all over Nepal but are very common in eastern Nepal. In the Terai, farmers usually grow bamboos on homestead land but in the hills they are often found on the edges of terraces. 

Bamboo is important because of its social, economic, ecological, and cultural prospects. This study provides information on the status, distribution, and research trends of bamboo along with the ecosystem services supplied by bamboo forests to local communities in Nepal. The 53 recorded species of bamboo are distributed over three ecological zones from the southern plains up to 3500m, with the highest diversity in the hill region. The bamboo forests provide vital ecosystem services, including food, fodder, soil conservation and carbon storage and sequestration. Relatively few studies have been undertaken on bamboos in Nepal, although the number of research papers is increasing. The majority of studies have focused on regulating services, and different regions have been covered unequally. Detailed studies on species distributions, ecosystem services, and especially the contribution of bamboo to mitigate climate change are critical for climatically vulnerable countries such as Nepal. This study has indicated the need for more detailed and comprehensive research on various ecosystem services (for instance, carbon stock potential of bamboo forests), realizing that insufficient data are preventing inferences from being drawn. This study also recommends to government and relevant stakeholders that the effective promotion and plantation of bamboo, capacity-building for local people, and the establishment of bamboo-based enterprises to provide socio-economic and ecological benefits to communities should all be promoted.