Towards Bamboo Industry Development in Sarawak: Evaluation on Survivorship and Field Growth Attributes of Four Selected Bamboo Species

• Main Authors: Mugunthan, Perumal, Nurul Husna, Mohd Hassan, Nizam, Abdullah, Zahora, Ismail, Latifah, Omar, Mohd Effendi, Wasli
• Format: Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Q Science (General); S Agriculture (General); SD Forestry
• Online Access: http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/45505/3/Towards%20Bamboo%20Industry.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/45505/

Bamboo is widely recognised as a highly renewable, fast-growing, and cost-effective raw material. It was traditionally used for making rafts that serve as an important medium of transportation and was used by the communities in agriculture, construction, arts and crafts, and furniture. Specifically, there are 50 species of bamboo in Peninsular Malaysia, 30 species in Sabah, and 20 species in Sarawak. Bamboo grows faster than any other plant in nature, with some species reaching 40 meters in height in just a few months while others can grow faster than one meter per day (Getachew et al., 2021). Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) was entrusted by Sarawak State Government to spearhead the development of the bamboo industry in Sarawak. By 2030, Sarawak aims to develop bamboo-based industries to produce food, charcoal, pharmaceutical, pulp and paper, cosmetics, textiles, handicrafts, and engineered bamboo products.