Bamboo in Orissa: Trade and Livelihood Perspective - Vasundhara

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Executive Summary
Bamboo has versatile applications among which use for paper production and housebuilding
is important. At production- as well as house-hold processing level, innumerable
people belonging to the poor and marginalized sections of the society depend on it for their
livelihood either as cutters or artisans. Unfortunately, the policy of the local Government,
which has been controlling the production and trade of bamboo as a nationalised product,
has been full of many disparities ultimately affecting these poor people. Of late, the
Government is making an effort to bring the advantage of the growing demand of bamboo
in various sectors, but the concerned scheme seems to be in vein.
Lease of bamboo forests for industrial purpose has received priority since preindependence
times as this ensures disposal of large lots of production(bamboo) at a time,
thereby ensuring massive cash returns. On the other hand, domestic consumption is
comparatively irregular, and the cash return from this source also follows the same trend.
Still, as a welfare state the Government is never supposed to ignore the needs of the
tenants. However, there have been several mismatches observed in this matter. In fact,
local communities should have the first right on the sustainable use of local natural
resources; and when some body else(state agency or paper industry) tries to supersede
them, the situation may get complicated. Harvesting of bamboo by paper mills in
community-protected forests has thus become problematic.
Bamboo-based traditional cottage industries are very old in the state, but they are not quite
promising in several places owing to various factors like availability of substitutes (plastic
materials, etc.). Government schemes are helping the bamboo artisans acquire new skills so
as to meet the challenges in the demand sector, but local and regular marketing of these
new products is difficult. Hence, the schemes are often not supposed to be very successful
on a long run.
Production of forest bamboo has dwindled in the state particularly after nationalisation in
1988. Unsustainable exploitation of bamboo forests is said to be the major reason behind it.
However, after 1999 a different situation emerged when paper mills refused to purchase
bamboo from the Government on the plea that the price was not viable, and at the same
time harvesting operations had to be suspended owing to the expiry of Working Plans, as
per the Supreme Court order. Bamboo requires regular harvesting as per silvicultural
principles, and non-harvesting for few continuous years results in unhealthy bamboo
clumps which have a risk of facilitating forest fire. Non-harvesting for more than 3 years
badly affected the production and quality of forest bamboo in the state, and the cutters who
earned their bread from this source were also forced to suffer severely. Finally, harvesting
work was resumed in 2005.
Flowering of bamboo has been a matter of concern not only for foresters, but for the rural
people since many centuries as it is believed to be associated with misfortunes and
calamities of various kinds. Flowered culms become virtually useless if not utilised within
given time period, but even 'useless' culms can yield useful charcoal.
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