For many countries bamboo is a product to be exploited. Bangladesh is no exception, but it hopes to protect its bamboo as well as harness its potential as a cash crop.
So, you’re probably scratching your head at the first paragraph. If ever there were two words that contradicted each other, protection and exploitation rank up there with jumbo shrimp and pretty ugly. I had to spend an inordinate amount of time pouring over the information about Bangladesh’s bamboo policies.
Buckle up; let’s take a peek at Bangladesh’s plans for using and promoting bamboo’s versatility. Bangladesh has plans to export bamboo shoots to countries including: Germany, England, Netherlands, Australia and United States (US).
Different departments of the Bangladesh government are coordinating efforts to grow, harvest and export bamboo as food. The preliminary phase of the project had been completed while its implementation phase started functioning from June 2008. Included in the project is the building of a processing plant for bamboo shoots. This plant will be constructed with government funds and with its expertise.
Expertise is what the government is bringing to another element of bamboo: its protection.
Bamboo and rattan are used by the rural people in various household activities from construction and thatching to household articles and fuel wood. Bamboo even provides the material to create a final resting place in a graveyard.
As a result of over exploitation and repeated felling, bamboo forests have been degrading year after year. Gradual conversion of bamboo forests into plantations through clear felling and burning has been also decreasing the areas of bamboo vegetation. It has been estimated that the average annual loss of bamboo area is 2:6 percent (Banik 1992).
Here we have a terrific plant with hundreds of uses from bamboo bedding to bamboo clothing and growing demands and pressures put on bamboo, and a government intent on balancing usage with protection.
Bangladesh may be small, but countries like the U.S. and others will watch and learn.
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
June 10, 2010
Mr. Tom Pane
Dear Mr. Paine:
It was encouraging to read your piece in Green Earth News on the potential of Bamboo from Bangladesh as an export product. I run a pest control and pesticide related firm (www.safeway.com.bd) in Bangladesh. As an entomologist, I became interested to protect the bamboo from a number of pests such as powder post beetles. After much testing and trials, we have been finally able to treat the bamboo in an environment-friendly manner to protect them against then infestation by these pests. In fact, in the past to export Bamboo by a number of entrepreuners in this country ended up in failure mainly because of the infestation by these pests.
There are several beutiful bamboo species in Bangladesh. We have manufactured a number of products out of Bamboo. Some of our produts are made of Bamboo and palm wood (Palmyra palm). We have not yet gone on commercial scale production. But in time, we hope to export our products to USA and Europe.
Just in case if you have any information about any firm which are interested to import Bamboo products from Bangladesh, please let me know. If you are interested, I will happy to send you some pictures of our product and price idea.
Best regards.
Manjur A. Chowdhury, Ph.D.
Safeway Tropical Products
House 111, Road 5, Block B
Niketon, Gulshan 1
Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Phones: +880-2-886 1600 / 1700 / 1800 (Work)
+880-2-886 1900 (Home)
+880-173-00-88-888 (Cell)
Fax: +880-2-886 1616
email: safeway@agni.com
manjur1968@gmail.com