Species Use Database

Bamboo
Bambusa sp.

Used for Food and feed, Medicine and hygiene, Energy, Ceremony and ritual expression, Decorative and aesthetic, Materials and construction and Conservation Management in Andaman Is., Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Darjiling, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chattisgarh, Dadra-Nagar-Haveli, Delhi, Diu, Daman, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkand, Kerala, Karaikal, Karnataka, Mahé, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Pondicherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Yanam, Laccadive Is., Nicobar Is., Himachal Pradesh, Jammu-Kashmir and Uttaranchal

A. Species

Scientific name: Bambusa sp.

Common name(s): Bamboo

Global IUCN Red List Threat Status:


B. Location of use

Geographic location(s):

  • Andaman Is.
  • Assam
  • Manipur
  • Meghalaya
  • Mizoram
  • Nagaland
  • Tripura
  • Arunachal Pradesh
  • Darjiling
  • Sikkim
  • Andhra Pradesh
  • Bihar
  • Chandigarh
  • Chattisgarh
  • Dadra-Nagar-Haveli
  • Delhi
  • Diu
  • Daman
  • Goa
  • Gujarat
  • Haryana
  • Jharkand
  • Kerala
  • Karaikal
  • Karnataka
  • Mahé
  • Madhya Pradesh
  • Maharashtra
  • Orissa
  • Pondicherry
  • Punjab
  • Rajasthan
  • Tamil Nadu
  • Uttar Pradesh
  • West Bengal
  • Yanam
  • Laccadive Is.
  • Nicobar Is.
  • Himachal Pradesh
  • Jammu-Kashmir
  • Uttaranchal

Country/Region: India


C. Scale of assessment

Scale of assessment: National Level

Name/Details of location: India


D. Timescale of use

Start Year: 2007

End Year: 2017


E. Information about the use

How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat, Wild species sourced from significantly modified habitat and Wild species sourced from the wild but reared/cultivated in a managed site

Type of use: Extractive

Practice of use: Gathering/Cutting/Collecting terrestrial plants and fungi or their products from the wild

Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal

Does this use involve take/extraction of: Only parts or products of the organism

Purpose(s) of end use: Food and feed, Medicine and hygiene, Energy, Ceremony and ritual expression, Decorative and aesthetic, Materials and construction and Conservation Management

Motivation of use: Basic subsistence, Income generation from trade (individual/household/community), Largescale commercial exploitation for trade, Population/Area Management and Climate Change Nature Based Solution / Adaptation Measure

Is this use legal or illegal?: Legal under national law


F. Information about the Users

Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people, National / local government and National / local private sector


G. Information about the sustainability of use

Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat, Wild species sourced from significantly modified habitat and Wild species sourced from the wild but reared/cultivated in a managed site

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable

Details of assessment carried out: this study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: sustainable if species-specific growth cycles taken into account: different bamboo species have different age of maturity/ flowering cycles; to achieve ecological sustainability, it is important that harvest is informed by species-specific knowledge

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable

Details of assessment carried out: this study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: considerable industry

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable

Details of assessment carried out: this study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: many livelihoods dependent/ improved by bamboo industry

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable

Details of assessment carried out: this study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: bamboo used widely around the globe

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Details of assessment carried out: study focuses on a plant

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: study focuses on a plant


Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species

"The focus should be on manufacturing bamboo products with high international demands, such as bamboo tableware, industrialized bamboo products, bamboo shoots, panels, woven products, bamboo charcoal, and bamboo furniture etc. The Indian Government is already working on various bamboo projects at Central and State levels. Moreover, due to its extraordinary performance, sustainability and specific properties, an immense opportunity is available for growing bamboo industries to boost up the Indian rural economy."


Record source

Information about the record source: scientific_pub

Date of publication/issue/production: 2020-01-01T00:00:00+0000

Source Reference(s):

Sawarkar, A.D., Shrimankar, D.D., Kumar, A., Kumar, A., Singh, E., Singh, L., Kumar, S. and Kumar, R., 2020. Commercial clustering of sustainable bamboo species in India. Industrial Crops and Products, 154, p.112693.

Date of record entry: 2022-11-15