File picture of bamboo flowering

The ministry of environment should begin planning on a war footing to prevent the post flowering disaster

The scenic state of Mizoram of the Northeast, covered with stunning lush green hills, is distinguished by long stretches of bamboo forest. The bamboo, also called green gold for its innumerable utility and ubiquity, is generally found abundantly in all the northeastern states. About 28 per cent of the total bamboo area of the country is located in the Northeast and approximately 65 per cent of bamboo in the country and 20 per cent of the world is grown in the region. But this economic asset, for which Mizoram is well known, is about to bring a disaster in the form of spontaneous flowering of bamboo forest.

This natural phenomenon, known in Mizoram as mautham, results in millions of acres of bamboo to burst into flowers and then die. The flowering is synchronous over vast tracts and is called gregarious flowering. Gregarious flowering occurs among the multi bamboo variety, which is a predominant species in the Northeast and their life cycle is about 50 years. Considering the fact that the last time the bamboo forest in Mizoram flowered was in 1959, the next flowering episode is expected between 2005 and 2007. However, this time it is not going to be just Mizoram, but the huge bamboo forest areas in Tripura, Manipur and Assam will also be affected, as predicted by experts.

The Mizos believe that the flowering of bamboo is an ill-omen, that will be followed by famine, death and destruction. Their belief is closely entwined with past history. The last time when the bamboo forests of Mizoram flowered, the abundance of seeds produced by the bamboo plants attracted rat population, and feasting on protein-rich seeds, they multiplied exponentially. When the stock of bamboo seeds ran out, the marauding rodents devoured all crops grown by the farmers within a few days resulting in an unprecedented famine in Mizoram. Particularly affected were the womenfolk who were dependent on field produce and vegetables from wild and bamboo shoots for sustenance. During the flowering stint, most of these edibles disappeared causing great hardship for the rural folks.

There are hundreds of species of bamboo in the world. Some flower every year and some at irregular intervals. But a small percentage does flower in synchrony, over hundreds of square kilometres, every few decades. Researchers aren?t sure how it happens. These periods of flowering can lead to destruction of basic crops and cause widespread famine in areas like the Northeast where bamboo grows heavily. According to scientists, ?gregarious bamboo flowering? wreaks ecological havoc because of two reasons.

First, the bamboo plants die after the flowering. So, it will be at least some years before bamboo plants take seed again, leaving bare exposed soil ? which could be disastrous in mountainous states and can lead to massive erosion and landslide. The second factor is rapid multiplication of rats fed on flowers and seeds of bamboo plants, which eventually devour agricultural crops in the fields and granaries, causing famine.

Bamboo flowering is an event that is not only mysterious, but is often fatal to bamboo itself. This occurs because the flowering process burns all the reserves inside the rhizomes. The plant stops producing leaves, and thus may consume itself to death. There are cases when an entire group dies together. Seeds can be preserved, but there is no safe method to assure that shoots will appear. What is vexing the authority is how to harvest the vast bamboo resources in the region before the flowering sets in.

If proper planning is not carried out beforehand, there will be decaying masses of bamboo everywhere and the growth of rat population will have a devastating effect on the jhum cultivation on which most of the poor families depend for subsistence. While there seems to be a consensus among the experts that the resources should be used before they become worthless, the problem is how to do that.

Authorities are anxious to head off a repetition of the socio-economic disaster consequent upon the last blooming episode in 1959. Plans are on to turn the flowering phenomenon into an economic opportunity by cutting down the bamboo and harvesting them before they flower completely. The effort is to bring in a green gold revolution through the bamboo.

But this is easier said than done, as most of the bamboo is located in remote, hard-to-reach parts of the state. Since the likelihood of preventing the disaster is slim, planning must start on a war footing from now on for the imminent flowering of bamboo forest in the whole of Northeast.

The Union government is devising a plan to deal with the cycle of bamboo flowering and famine that is expected to occur anytime now. The state has been ordered to increase stocks of food in the region and to store these provisions in rodent-proof silos. Some officials were also making suggestion that the flowering varieties of bamboo be replaced with non-flowering ones. Farmers may also be instructed to plant crops that rats do not eat, such as ginger and turmeric, during the periods when vast fields of bamboo are expected to flower.

The ministry of environment and forest has chalked out an action plan to deal with the effects of an expected flowering of bamboo trees in the Northeast. The food and civil supplies departments of all the northeastern states have been asked to prepare plans for procurement, storage and quick distribution of food items in the event of a famine.

State governments are also making plans for procurement, storage and distribution of pesticides and creating awareness among the people to reduce rodent population. The Forest Survey of India has been asked to map the areas where bamboo grows. The Centre will provide assistance to state governments in infrastructure development for harvesting and transport of bamboo.

According to the estimates provided by the state forest departments, an approximate extent of 11,980 square km is expected to be under gregarious flowering of which only less than 2 per cent is proposed to be regenerated artificially over a period of five years. The approximate amount required for the purpose according to the projections of the states is estimated to be of the order of Rs 690 crore. The funding is expected from various ministries/departments in the central and state governments.

The government of India (GOI) has constituted a steering committee to chalk out a detailed strategy and action plan to address this natural ecological phenomenon with high social and economic implications. The steering committee has taken note of the recommendations of the three different task forces, like task force on regeneration, task force on harvesting and marketing and task force on rodent control and preparedness.