Government To Push for Bamboo Plantation to Fight Climate Change Around 100 'Van Dhan' centres will be set up to create sustainable source of income for tribals
By Vinayak Sharma •
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The Narendra Modi-led government has devised a plan to fight climate change and desertification through sustainable bamboo cultivation, which will also help in creating source of income for up to 500,000 tribals.
The plan will be presented later this week at the ongoing Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP14).
To be implemented in the northeastern states, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh through 100 Van Dhan centres, the scheme aims to create a market for bamboo products and bamboo charcoal. The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India, part of the tribal affairs ministry, will be the nodal implementing agency for the scheme and these centres are expected to come up by October 31.
Bamboo has a higher carbon sequestration potential compared with other trees and can help restore fertility of degraded land. One hectare of bamboo produces 5-7 tonnes leaf litre per year and India has set a target of restoring 26 million hectare of degraded land by 2030.
The plan also involves setting up 60,000 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra to provide skill upgradation and capacity building training of tribals. These units will have primary processing and value-addition facilities and will involve 15 self-help groups, each including 20 tribal gatherers.
