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The wonder plant with an uncertain future: more than a billion people
rely on bamboo for either their shelter or income, while many endangered
species depend on it for their survival. Despite its apparent abundance, a
new report says that species of bamboo may be under serious threat.
Section A
Every year, during the rainy season, the mountain gorillas of Central
Africa migrate to the foothills and lower slopes of the Virunga Mountains
to graze on bamboo. For the 650 or so that remain in the wild, it’s a vital
food source. Although they at almost 150 types of plant, as well as various
insects and other invertebrates, at this time of year bamboo accounts for
up to 90 per cent of their diet. Without it, says Ian Redmond, chairman of
the Ape Alliance, their chances of survival would be reduced significantly.
Gorillas aren’t the only locals keen on bamboo. For the people who live
close to the Virungas, it’s a valuable and versatile raw material used for
building houses and making household items such as mats and baskets. But in
the past 100 years or so, resources have come under increasing pressure as
populations have exploded and large areas of bamboo forest have been
cleared to make way for farms and commercial plantations.
Section B
Sadly, this isn’t an isolated story. All over the world, the ranges
of many bamboo species appear to be shrinking, endangering the people and
animals that depend upon them. But despite bamboo’s importance, we know
surprisingly little about it. A recent report published by the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Network for Bamboo and
Rattan (INBAR) has revealed just how profound is our ignorance of global
bamboo resources, particularly in relation to conservation. There are
almost 1,600 recognized species of bamboo, but the report concentrated on
the 1,200 or so woody varieties distinguished by the strong stems, or
culms, that most people associate with this versatile plant. Of these, only
38 ‘priority species’ identified for their commercial value have been the
subject of any real scientific research, and this has focused mostly on
matters relating to their viability as a commodity. This problem isn’t
confined to bamboo. Compared to the work carried out on animals, the
science of assessing the conservation status of plants is still in its
infancy. “People have only started looking hard at this during the past
10-15 years, and only now are they getting a handle on how to go about it
systematically,” says Dr Valerie Kapos, one of the report’s authors and a senior
advisor in forest ecology and conservation to the UNEP
Section C
Bamboo is a type of grass. It comes in a wide variety of forms,
ranging in height from 30 centimeters to more than 40 meters. It is also
the world’s fastest-growing woody plant; some species can grow more than a
meter in a day. Bamboo’s ecological rote extends beyond providing food and
habitat for animals. Bamboo tends to grow in stands made up of groups of
individual plants that grow from root systems known as rhizomes. Its
extensive rhizome systems, which tie in predicting the top layers of the
soil, are crucial in preventing soil erosion. And there is growing evidence
that bamboo plays an important part in determining forest structure and
dynamics. “Bamboo’s pattern of mass flowering and mass death leaves behind
large areas of dry biomass that attract wildfire,” says Kapos. “When these
bum, they create patches of open ground within the forest far bigger than
would be left by a fallen tree.” Patchiness helps to preserve diversity
because certain plant species do better during the early stages of
regeneration when there are gaps in the canopy.
Section D
However, bamboo’s most immediate significance lies in its economic
value. Modem processing techniques mean that it can be used in a variety of
ways, for example, flooring and laminates. One of the fastest-growing
bamboo products is paper -25 per cent of paper produced in India is made
from bamboo fibre and in Brazil, 100,000 hectares of bamboo is grown for
its production. Of course, bamboo’s main function has always been in
domestic applications, and as a locally traded commodity, it’s worth about
US$4.5billion annually. Because of its versatility, flexibility and
strength (its tensile strength compares to that of some steel), it has
traditionally been used in construction. Today, more than one billion
people worldwide live in bamboo houses. Bamboo is often the only readily
available raw material for people in many developing countries, says Chris
Staple-ton, a research associate at the Royal Botanic Gardens. “Bamboo can
be harvested from forest areas or grown quickly elsewhere, and then
converted simply without expensive machinery or facilities,” he says. “In
this way, it contributes substantially to poverty alleviation and wealth creation.”
Section E
Given bamboo’s value in economic and ecological terms, the picture
painted by the UNEP report is all the more worrying. But keen
horticulturists will spot an apparent contradiction here. Those who’ve
followed the recent vogue for cultivating exotic species in their gardens
will point out that if it isn’t kept in check, bamboo can cause real
problems. “In a lot of places, the people who live with bamboo don’t
perceive it as being endangered in any way,” says Kapos. “In fact, a lot of
bamboo species are actually very invasive if they’ve been introduced.” So
why are so many species endangered? There are two separate issues here,
says Ray Townsend, vice president of the British Bamboo Society and
arboretum manager at the Royal Botanic Gardens. “Some plants are threatened
because they can’t survive in the habitat – they aren’t strong enough or
there aren’t enough of them, perhaps. But bamboo can take care of itself –
it is strong enough to survive if left alone. What is under threat is its
habitat.” It is the physical disturbance that is the threat to bamboo, says
Kapos. “When forest goes, it is converted into something else: there isn’t
any-where for forest plants such as bamboo to grow if you create a cattle
pasture.”
Section F
Around the world, bamboo species are routinely protected as part of
forest eco-systems in national parks and reserves, but there is next to
nothing that protects bamboo in the wild for its own sake. However, some
small steps are being taken to address this situation. The UNEP-INBAR
report will help conservationists to establish effective measures aimed at
protecting valuable wild bamboo species. Towns end, too, sees the UNEP
report as an important step forward in promoting the cause of bamboo
conservation. “Until now, bamboo has been perceived as a second-class
plant. When you talk about places such as the Amazon, everyone always
thinks about the hardwoods. Of course, these are significant, but there is
a tendency to overlook the plants they are associated with, which are often
bamboo species. In many ways, it is the most important plant known to man.
I can’t think of another plant that is used so much and is so commercially
important in so many countries.” He believes that the most important first
step is to get scientists into the field. “We need to go out there, look at
these plants and see how they survive and then use that information to
conserve them for the future.
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