7 more day remaining for abstract submission

The last date for submission of abstract for National Seminar on Productivity Enhancement and value Addition of Bamboos to be held on 09-10 march 2010 at Hotel Ashoka, Ranchi is fast approaching. There has been overwhelming response so far. Scientists from all corners of India have confirmed their participation in the Event.

The organizers calls for attention of all workers in the arena of bamboo research in the country to submit their papers well before the last date 25th February 2010.

Ranchi to have National Bamboo Meet

Deliberations will take place among scientists, foresters and bamboo entrepreneurs in “National Seminar on Productivity Enhancement and Value Addition of Bamboos” is being organized on 9-10 March 2010 at Hotel Ashoka Ranchi. The themes of the seminar include:

· Management of bamboos in natural forests and plantations for optimal productivity

· Approaches and techniques for conservation, improvement and mass multiplication

· Development of value-added processes & products; utilization and market linkages

· Socio-economics of bamboo trade and entrepreneurship development

CALL FOR PAPERS

Papers are invited on themes identified for the Seminar. Abstracts not exceeding 300 words including a concise title, names and affiliations of authors and 4-5 key words; neatly types on A4 size paper (MS Word, 1.5 spacing and Times New Roman font throughout) must reach to Organizing Secretary, (sanjaysingh@lycos.com; sanjaysingh@icfre.org) or Director, IFP (dir_ifp@icfre.org; ifpranchi@hotmail.com) preferably through e-mail on or before 25^th February 2010.

National Seminar on Productivity Enhancement and Value Addition of Bamboos, March 9-10, 2010 Ranchi

Bamboo is an enduring and versatile natural resource with great species diversity and amenability to a range of environments. Having growth three times faster than most eucalyptus species; bamboos are foremost in biomass production, with up to 40 tonnes per hectare per year in terms of culms only in the managed stands. An estimated one-quarter of the biomass in tropical regions and one-fifth in subtropical regions comes from bamboos. Its qualities of strength, light weight and flexibility make it a viable alternative to tropical timber for a variety of uses. In sum, bamboo’s excellent growth, environmental, mechanical and engineering properties make it a fine alternative to tropical timber. A couple of decades ago bamboo was used mainly as material to make poles, baskets, furniture, fences and handicraft items. Today, bamboo has thousands of uses including airplane "skins", desalination filters, diesel fuel, edible shoots and medicine. It can also be made into fibre for clothing and used to reinforce concrete. Bamboos potential for different value added products and application make them an extremely important material for dispersed employment generation and economic activities.

The annual bamboo production in India is estimated at 3.23 m tons. India has 30 % of the world’s bamboo resources with largest growing area of 11.36 m ha, but the country tap only one-tenth of its bamboo potential and contributes only 4 % share of the global market mainly because of low productivity of around 2 tons/ha/annum. This yield is very low (one fourth to one fifth) compared to countries such as Japan, China, Taiwan and Malaysia. India’s current demand for bamboo is an estimated 27 m tons. However, only 50 % of that demand can be met because of lack of facilities for value addition and transportation. Therefore there is already a substantial shortfall in the supply of bamboos in India. Thus, there is immense requirement and scope for enhancing bamboo productivity and value addition of processes and products for optimal utilization of this valuable resource.

Hence “National Seminar on Productivity Enhancement and Value Addition of Bamboos” is being organized on 9-10 March 2010 at Ranchi for deliberations, exchange of ideas and formulation of suitable strategies for enhancing bamboo productivity and value addition.

THEMES

-Management of bamboos in natural forests and plantations for optimal productivity
-Approaches and techniques for conservation, improvement and mass multiplication
-Development of value-added processes & products; utilization and market linkages
-Socio-economics of bamboo trade and entrepreneurship development

CALL FOR PAPERS

Papers are invited on themes identified for the Seminar. Abstracts not exceeding 300 words including a concise title, names and affiliations of authors and 4-5 key words; neatly types on A4 size paper (MS Word, 1.5 spacing and Times New Roman font throughout) must reach to Organizing Secretary, (sanjaysingh@lycos.com; sanjaysingh@icfre.org) or Director, IFP (dir_ifp@icfre.org; ifpranchi@hotmail.com) preferably through e-mail on or before 25th February 2010.