Our Correspondent
Imphal, Sep. 17 (EMN): Bamboo can also contribute to Prime Minister’s call on single-use plastic and help the rural and bamboo economy, said the founder of the World Bamboo Day Founder.
Kamesh Salam founded WBD in 2009 during the 8th World Bamboo Congress in Bangkok.
Salam is also the former president of the World Bamboo Organisation and the present executive director the South Asia Bamboo Foundation.
The founder expressed his desire to dedicate this year’s World bamboo Day, September 18, as a great tribute to Mahatama Gandhi on his 150th birthday.
Speaking to Eastern Mirror, Salam said he is requesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to talk about bamboo in his “Maan ki baat..”
“This will help to promote bamboo in India and globally,” he said on the eve of World Bamboo Day which will be celebrated across the world.
He said this year the event is more meaningful as it will be observed with the theme of “Bamboo for Sustainable Development Goals(SDG)” of United Nations.
Salam said the Global Bamboo and Rattan Congress 2018 (BARC 2018) at Beijing highlighted the value of bamboo-based activities in achieving international policy objectives, including the SDGs and commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change.
As deliberated by the eminent speakers and participants, bamboo can contribute to the SDGs on-no poverty (SDG 1), affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), climate action (SDG 13), life on land (SDG 15), and partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17), with reference to activities in Asia, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, he said.
On the 10th WBD celebration this time, a five-day long event is being planned by SABF and Bamboo Forum of India.
SABF is also honouring five bamboo pioneers from Manipur and one from Ladakh for their bamboo promotion activities, he informed.
India has 15.69 million hectares of land under bamboo cultivation, the second largest after China but the country’s share in world bamboo trade is insignificant due to lack of research, development and other visible industry. In the Northeast, only 28% of the land is under bamboo cultivation but it contributes nearly 66% of India’s total bamboo
production.
