Bamboo in panel form is well suited to substitute wood and therefore, development/refinement of cost-effective technologies to produce bamboo-based panels is an important area of research. In 1990, the International Development Research Centre of Canada commissioned an evaluation on past research and research needs for bamboo and rattan. The report issued in 1991 indicated the […]

The status of rattans and rattan inventory in India is discussed briefly. The Kerala Forest Research Institute, as part of a research program is funded by IDRC, Canada, is currently involved in developing appropriate inventory methods for rattans. Based on these studies, various constraints in the design and execution of rattan inventory are discussed. The […]

Information on such local technologies, however, is restricted, localized and largely unpublished, and hence not easily accessible to other interested groups. This publication, although by no means exhaustive, is intended to fill this gap and help in the wider dissemination of the knowledge for the benefit of the rural poor, particularly women who are generally […]

Two INBAR Consultations, organized as part of the work of the Production Working Group (the first on identification of priority species and the second on constraints to production), had emphasized the need for genetic enhancement of both bamboo and rattan. As a result, an Expert Consultation was organized by INBAR and co-sponsored by FORTIP (FAO/UNDP […]

The most endearing aspect of bamboo from the point of view of utility, perhaps, is that it comes almost ready-to-use. It could very well be that because of this singular feature, bamboo today is a much overexploited plant. The acute shortage, at least in some parts of the bamboo world, of raw materials has forced […]

The Research Advisory Group of INBAR, meeting in December 1993, noted that two areas relating to production of bamboo and rattan needed in-depth assessment. These were propagation and supply of planting materials and the sustainable management of natural stands. As a result, the INBAR Production Working Group and the Secretariat organised a research consultation in […]

A Consultative Meeting on methodology for trials of bamboo and rattan was held 23-25 February 1994 at the Universiti Pertanian Malaysia at Serdang, Selangor. The objectives of the Meeting were to recommend to INBAR what can be done to promote the concept of regional trials of species and provenances and to develop a standardised methodology which […]

A major drawback with bamboo is that it is not durable against wood degrading organisms. Thus, most bamboos used for structural purposes in rural and tribal housing deteriorate in a couple of years, putting heavy pressure on the resource, owing to increased demands for frequent replacements. This adversely affects the supplies of bamboo, even in […]

The IDRC has once again taken the initiative, through INBAR, to promote development in rattan and bamboo. It is now in the process of preparing manuals on several topics on rattan and bamboo. One such manual is that on rattan nursery technology – the scope of this publication. A Guide to the Cultivation of Rattan has […]

An exercise to select bamboo and rattan species for further research was completed in 1993. This collaboration resulted in the first joint publication, between INBAR and IBPGR issued in 1994. The INBAR Bamboo Rattan Working Group on Genetic Diversity and Conservation decided last year to bring out a second edition of Priority Species of Bamboo […]