Project Bamboo Oasis on Lands in Drought (BOLD) in Rajasthan
Recently, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has launched Bamboo Oasis on Lands in Drought (BOLD) project on dry land area in Rajasthan.
- Project BOLD seeks to create bamboo based green belts in arid and semi-arid land areas to reduce land degradation and prevent desertification.
- Bamboo is a fast growing grass and is usually woody. It is found in tropical, sub-tropical and mild temperate regions.
- India is second only to China in terms of bamboo diversity.
Benefits of bamboo farming:
- Bamboo conserves water and reduces evaporation of water from the surface of the land.
- Bamboo with its unique ability to treat and repair damaged soils is ideal for the restoration of degraded soils.
Bamboo Applications:
Used in construction materials, agricultural equipment, furniture, musical instruments, foodstuffs, handicrafts, large bamboo based industries (paper pulp, rayon etc.), packaging etc.
Measures to promote bamboo cultivation:
- For plantation and nursery promotion and development of bamboo products, 22 bamboo clusters have been started in 9
- The restructured National Bamboo Mission was launched in the year 2018-19 for holistic development of the entire value chain of the bamboo sector.
- In the year 2017, bamboo was removed from the definition of trees by amending the Indian Forest Act Hence bamboo growing outside forests no longer requires harvesting and transit permissions.
Source – The Hindu
