Priority species of bamboo and rattan - Bioversity International

viii PRIORITY SPECIES OF BAMBOO AND RATTAN
Preface to the 1 st edition
This is the first in a series of publications from the International Network for Bamboo
and Rattan (INBAR). In the months ahead, we hope to offer bamboo and rattan
researchers and enthusiasts alike a wealth of information about these increasingly
important species. The publication of this book, therefore, marks an important stage
in INBAR’s evolution.
INBAR is the outgrowth of a network of bamboo and rattan research projects that
have been funded since the early 1980’s by the International Development Research
Centre (IDRC) of Canada. Following months of study and consultation with donor
agencies, IDRC approved a grant in late 1992 to establish INBAR. In 1993, the
International fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) approved major grant towards
INBAR’s activities, to be channelled through the Centre for International Forestry
Research (CIFOR). In mid-1993, the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources
(IBPGR) obtained funding from Japan and agreed to co-sponsor with INBAR a meeting
aimed at identifying priority species of bamboo and rattan.
The idea for the INBAR-IBPGR Consultative Meeting on the Selection of Priority
Species of Bamboo and Rattan had been proposed in mid-1993 at an INBAR networkshop
of bamboo and rattan project collaborators from Asia. The meeting in Dehra Dun in
December 1993 comprised a select group of Asian and international experts.
We hope that this publication will provide some useful guidelines in identification
of bamboo and rattan species for establishing plantations, intercropping, and in social
forestry programmes. The priority species of bamboo present a vast untapped potential
for rehabilitating degraded waste lands, as do the rattan species for rehabilitating
forests. The result will be an enhancement of the incomes of rural people and forest
dwellers.
INBAR and IBPGR wish to thank Dr D N Tewari, Director General of the Indian
Council of Forestry Research and Education, for offering the participants an inspiring
setting for the deliberations. In addition, IBPGR sincerely wishes to acknowledge the
funding received from the Government of Japan for its project on bamboo and rattan.
Our thanks to the participants for the enthusiasm and dedication that they demonstrated
in accomplishing the objectives set out for them. Finally, a special word of thanks to
our principal editors, not only for their editorial efforts, but for their effective
chairmanship of the meeting in Dehra Dun.
Paul Stinson Cherla B. Sastry
Manager, INBAR Principal Program Officer
(Forestry), IDRC
March, 1994