Is bamboo a grass or a tree? 18th September is World Bamboo Day and Centre for Civil Society (CCS) is pushing a petition to PM, Agriculture Minister and Environment Minister that bamboo should be declared a grass, not a tree.

Everyone knows bamboo belongs to the grass family, so what is this tree business? This has to do largely (but not only) with Indian Forests Act (1927). This legislation classifies bamboo as a tree and harvested bamboo becomes timber. The upshot is heavy-handed government regulation on harvesting, transit and trade of bamboo.

Bamboo can grow in government forests, private forests or private plantations. If it grows in government forests, one can understand controls on harvesting, with two caveats. First, even in reserved and protected forests, there is no reason for taxonomy to be anti-nature. Why should bamboo become timber, as opposed to non-timber forest produce? Second, government controls and regulations aren't necessarily best way of preserving forests. But damage caused by timber classification is even more insidious. States have their own laws, rules and regulations too. Since Centre calls bamboo a tree and harvested bamboo timber under Indian Forests Act, this is generally replicated by most States. The moment this happens, harvesting, transit and trade of bamboo grown in private forests and private plantations is subject to State control.

CCS campaign draws intellectual support from a study done by Malavika Vyawahare. This classifies ten States on the basis of how much they control bamboo, ranging from a relative low in Kerala, Gujarat and MP to a relatively high in Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

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