Potential of Bamboo ( Dendrocalamus strictus ) Plantation for Sustain the Livelihood with Natural Resource Conservation in Chambal Ravine of Madhya Pradesh

Abstract

Ravines have a variety of a gully net works and combinations with varying conditions of gully beds, gully side slopes, and gully intensities due to which no uniform and cost effective land development package can be made available or implemented till now and the problem remains as such. Rehabilitation of ravine lands with various kinds of vegetation not only provides livelihood support but also helps natural resources conservation and carbon sequestration in long run. Further the increase in vegetative cover in degraded ravine lands enhances the flora and fauna, and restores natural ecosystem thereby mitigating the impacts of climate change in addition to conservation of land and water resources for sustained productivity. Bamboo is known to be one of the fastest growing plants in the world, with a growth rate ranging from 30 to 100 cm per day in growing season. It can grow to a height of 36 m with diameter of 1-30 cm. India is one of the leading countries in the world in bamboo production. From bamboo plantation the additional employment average ` 10830 per hectare per year were received as labourer wages to the small and land less farmers for making secure livelihood. Through additional remunerative returns and generation of additional employment, bamboo plantation should sustain the livelihood security under Chambal ravine areas. However, there is a need to integrate the various stakeholders at various levels (production to consumption) for evolving workable strategies to promote these bamboo based interventions, which would not only be instrumental in addressing environmental concerns but also economic and livelihood security of habitants of these vulnerable lands