Bamboo as a complementary crop to address climate change and livelihoods - Insights from India

The government of India has recently amended forest act 1927, whereby Bamboo grown in non-forest areas has been removed from the purview of restrictions on its felling and interstate transportation. The new regulation is aimed to increase the commercialization of Bamboo and help in fulfilling the government's commitment to double farmers' income by 2022. It will boost the interest of farmers and entrepreneurs in cultivation, treatment, and processing of Bamboo, which will not only generate new income avenues but also result in the increased green cover of the country. Bamboo has the potential to generate carbon credits due to high carbon sequestration rates, which can be traded internationally. Farmers can use Bamboo farming in sub-optimal land to generate additional income and improve the fertility of the land. This study is about the 'twofold potential' of Bamboo in improving financial conditions of farmers by utilization of cultivable wasteland and helping in climate change mitigation by avoided deforestation, afforestation, and carbon sequestration. India has approximately 146 million hectares of degraded land. Farmers can earn upto 800 USD per hectare annually by selling raw bamboo from their degraded land. Bamboo cultivation can generate around 10 CERs per hectare annually, which can be traded as carbon credits. Additionally, under-employed farmers can work as skilled workers in bamboo handicraft industry and can earn upto 2700 USD annually at current exchange rates, which is significantly higher than the present average income (1750 USD/annum) of farmers.