go back to UNIDOScope 20 - 26 April, 2003

BAMTECH 2003 GALLERY

go back to UNIDOScope 20 - 26 April, 2003

BAMTECH 2003 GALLERY

go back to UNIDOScope 20 - 26 April, 2003

BAMTECH 2003 GALLERY

Bamboo is an exceptional natural resource. Among other things, it can be eaten, fashioned into utensils to eat with, a plate to eat off, a table to put the plate on, a floor to stand the table on and a house to put all that, and ourselves in. The latter being an especially good idea if we live in an earthquake zone. As a potential food, raw material, shelter and medicine for a good part of the worlds population, bamboo is one of the most important forest resources of India. On top of all this, bamboo is of course, by nature, recyclable. The North East of India is home to one-third of India's total reserves of bamboo. Traditionally thought of as "poor man's timber", bamboo is starting to be recognised by rich and poor alike, as a substitute for timber. With the objective of encouraging further recognition of the value of bamboo, by highlighting the role it can play in alleviating poverty, generating employment and contributing to the environment, a three-day technical symposium, BAMTECH 2003, was held in Guwahati at the Assam Administrative Staff College. BAMTECH 2003 was supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNIDO, the Indian Department of Science and Technology, the North Eastern Council, and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). BAMTECH 2003 dealt with four main themes: raw materials supply and plantations; diminishing forests; management of bamboo resources; research and development needs; processing technologies; equipments and machinery; adaptation to Indian species and needs; bamboo products and production management; potential markets and price ranges; bamboo housing technologies for earthquake prone, rural and hill areas; disaster management. Over 270 delegates from nine countries, participated, representing national and state governments, international agencies, academia, entrepreneurs, and NGOs. Countries represented were: India; Australia; Belgium; China; Canada; Italy; Malaysia; Nepal; and the United Kingdom. A total of 30 technical papers were presented in the seminar (papers should be available for downloading from the UNIDO site by May, 2003). Among the presenters were Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Mizoram Chief Minister, Zoramthanga, former director of the Asian Development Bank, Jayanta Madhab; representative of India's Department of Science & Technology, S. Chatterjee; Planning Commission, representatives, A.P. Dikshit and Srikanta Panigrahi; former Director General of INBAR, (International Network for Bamboo and Rattan), Cherla Sastry; and representative of the Tata Energy and Research Institute (TERI), S.K. Pandey. While recommendations were made in several areas, emphasis was laid on taking advantage of an offer of cooperation from the Chinese delegation, inthe form of training of craftsmen and technology transfer. The bamboo industry in China has seen a remarkable leap forward during the last decade. In view of the high potential for bamboo to contribute to the alleviation of poverty, participants also emphasised the importance of a continued and expanded role for the Cane & Bamboo Technology Centre beyond the scheduled closing of the project in December 2003, to facilitate transfer of skills and technologies to artisans and promote linkage of bamboo and cane producers with users and markets. contact: Tony Levissianos, Tel: +43 1 26026/3715, E-mail: A.Levissianos@unido.org