Bamboo for Sustainable Development: Proceedings of the Vth International Bamboo Congress and the Vith International Bamboo Workshop, San Jose, Costa Rica, 2-6 November 1998

Bamboo is a plant that occurs over much of the world. It contributes significantly to the income generation of many poor farmers. However it is an orphan crop - largely ignored by the main landholding agencies - forestry and agriculture. This volume contains most of the papers presented at the joint Fifth International Bamboo Congress and Sixth International Bamboo Workshop held in San Jose, Costa Rica, in 1998, and organized by the International Bamboo Association (IBA) and INBAR. The text is divided into four parts: Bamboo Resources and Socio-economics; Bamboo Propagation and Management; Bamboo Engineering and Construction; and Bamboo Design and Utilization. The topics covered include varied aspects of bamboo, such as: from bamboo resources of Mexico to bamboos of Ethiopia; from bamboo afforestation of a mined area to bamboo as a food and fibre alternative in an island; from bamboo drippers to bamboo wheelchairs; from teaching architecture with bamboo to an international building code for bamboo; from silviculture of Guadua bamboo to flowering of Moso bamboo; and more. This publication should serve to highlight the usefulness of bamboo in aiding developing countries in their sustainable social, economic and environmental development.