The Bamboo and Rattan Sectors in Asia: an Analysis of ... - INBAR

2 DATABASE STUDIES
One of the first activities supported by INBAR was a review of the socioeconomics
bamboo and rattan in Southeast Asia (Duraiappah 1993), which examined
the published literature and identified strengths and weaknesses in the current
understanding. The review showed that first steps had been made in many places,
identifying some of the main qualitative relationships in the economics, politics,
sociology and ecology of the bamboo and rattan sectors in the region. However, it
also noted that there were major gaps, especially in quantitative information:
"Our preliminary findings suggest that there are not existing comprehensive
databases in any of the research institutions in the region... In fact, it is the
dispersed nature of the data that seems to be the main deterrent rather than
the non-existence of data. We, therefore, feel strongly that the establishment
of a formal database is a prerequisite for any further research in the sector."
The INBAR Socio-economics Working Group (SEWG) responded by recommending
a series of small studies to collate existing information, to assess its quality and
reliability, and to synthesize and analyse it. It was felt that these studies would be useful
at the national level, providing for the first time a national database on the bamboo and
rattan sectors, and that they would serve as the starting point for a regional database
on the topic.
As a beginning, studies were carried out in China, India, Indonesia, Nepal and
the Philippines. Together, these studies demonstrate the very high economic value of
both commodities in the Asian region.
India Bamboo Database by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education
(ICFRE) shows that there are 10 million ha of bamboo, accounting for about 12.8% of
the total forest cover in the country. The same report gives bamboo production figures
for some of the more important bamboo producing states. For example, in 1993, Orissa
produced 290 000 tons and Madhya Pradesh 211 000 tons. In 1994, Andhra Pradesh
produced 174 000 tons (and these figures account for only the production on state
lands.)
Bamboo and rattan socio-economic database for the Peoples Republic of China,
prepared by Zhong et al. documents the growth in the total bamboo plantation area
from 3.04 million ha in 1973 to 3.9 million ha in 1993. The standing stock increased
from 67.54 million tons to 97.04 million tons in the same period, showing an enormous
increase in productivity. From 1980 to 1993, harvests of bamboo shoots of the most
important species have at least doubled, and in some cases increased up to 8.5 fold.
Exports have grown from US$111 million in 1981 to over US$318 million in 1993. In
1992, there were around 30 000 bamboo and rattan-based enterprises employing
750 000 people, of which about 60% were women. Importantly, the study notes that,
unlike the modern forestry sector, wide participation by rural people characterize the
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