Language: English
Hill bamboos have many economic uses for people in India, and suffer from overexploitation. They are not generally included in forest management plans, due to a bias in favour of timber species growing in the region.
In view of this, the existing research and development needs to be strengthened. In this context, a National Seminar titled "Hill Bamboos – An Important Resource for Improving Rural Livelihoods" was organized to deliberate and to explore areas of concern like propagation of hill bamboo through improved nursery techniques and biotechnological interventions, management of hill bamboos in natural forests including resource augmentation, potential of hill bamboos for enhancing rural livelihoods, socio-economics of bamboo products, and trade, marketing and entrepreneurship to supplement the incomes of rural poor in the country. The related research papers and case studies presented in the seminar are included in these proceeding, along with the recommendations of the plenary session. The editors hope that the present publication will be useful to the readers and make an impact on protecting, strengthening and utilizing hill bamboo resources for the purpose of improving livelihoods, environmental protection and conservation in the Himalayan region of the country.