What are the benefits to local people from bamboo-based development?
Bamboo is the single most important forest produce used by the rural communities in several countries of the Asia-Pacific region. It is also an important source of cash income for the rural poor. In Asia, the history of bamboo is so inextricably interwoven with the history of man that it could be characterized as a bamboo civilisation. Since the commodity is multipurpose and processing is labour-intensive, bamboo-based development leads to the creation of new employment opportunities and income generation, especially in rural communities and expansion of opportunities for women in the work force (Source: N. Manokaran, personal communication). Example: Bamboo shoot production in China. A recent study (S. Kant and M. Chiu 2000, Bamboo sector reforms and the local economy of Linan County, Zhejiang Province, PRC. Forest Policy and Economics 1, 283-299) shows that income from fresh bamboo shoots benefited poor as well as rich groups and moved many households from the poorer to the richer cl
