BALANCING TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE FOR CONSERVATION AND UTILIZATION OF BAMBOO RESOURCES IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH, INDIA S. Tangjang 1 , T. Wangpan 1 , T. Taka 1 , N.D. Namsa 2 and A. Arunachalam 3 1 *Department of Botany, Rajiv Gandhi University, Rono Hill, Doimukh-791 112, Arunachal Pradesh, India 2 Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tezpur University, Napaam-784028, Assam, India 3 Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi-1 / 0001, India Abstract Bamboo, a giant woody grass with myriad uses is unique and vital component of many rural landscapes in northeast India. Overall, fourteen bamboo species have been reported from Tirap and Lower Subansiri districts in Arunachal Pradesh. Traditionally, bamboo resources are being utilized for fulfilling the basic rural needs like housing, traditional crafts, ritualistic functions, etc. Any product made of bamboo is something traditional and has a cultural integration. Evidently, the ethnic- people prepare a lot of indigenous bamboo-based food products for both household consumption and commercial purposes. It is therefore important to focus on management and conservation of bamboos that benefits various rural needs and harness the ecosystem services. Keywords: Bamboo; Conservation; Tradition; Northeast India Introduction Bamboo, an ancient woody grass, belonging to the family Poaceae is an important component of the Shiwalik forests in the Himalaya (Song et al., 2011) and in particular, the village ecosystems. It is an important group of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) gifted by nature to mankind (Handique et al., 2010), and is thus aptly referred to as the “poor man’s timber” or “green gold of the forest” (Kanglin et al., 2000). The bamboo adapts easily to a range of climatic and soil conditions, and is therefore widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical zones between approximately 46°N and 47°S latitude, covering a total area of about 3 1.5 million ha, and accounted for about 0.8% of the world’s total forested area (FAO, 2010), It is estimated that 60-90 genera of bamboo exist, comprising approximately 1100-1500 species (Zbu, 2001). In Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern Himalayan range with the richest bio-geographical province out of a total of 83743 sq. km geographical area, 7770 sq. km is under bamboo cover comprising 57 species (Bhuyan et al., 2007). These diverse bamboo species find their place in reserve forest as well as homestead agroforestry systems in the state. In Arunachal Pradesh, there exists a wealth of indigenous knowledge on utilization and management of bamboo resources as it contributes substantially to rural subsistence (Handique et al., 2010). Albeit having such a rich resource base and a widespread living tradition of bamboo uses, the tremendous potential of bamboo lies dormant and largely untapped in Arunachal Pradesh in comparison with countries like China, Japan and Taiwan (Sastry, 2001). This paper discusses the benefits of conserving bamboo resources for all-round development and uses in eastern Himalayan range of Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India. Materials and Methods Study Sites Two districts namely, the Tirap and Lower Subansiri districts in Arunachal Pradesh were selected for the detailed study. The Tirap district occupy a unique position on the map of the country that lies between 26° 38'N and 27° 47' N latitudes and 96° 16' E and 95° 40' E longitudes. The district is inhabited by three major hill tribes viz., the Nocte, the Wancho and the Tutsa with myriads of colourful sub-tribes. It is bounded by Changlang District of Arunachal Pradesh towards the East, Nagaland towards the West, Assam towards the North and Myanmar in the South. Topographically, the district falls within the higher mountainous zone, cluster of tangled peaks and valleys intercepted by two major riverbeds, the Tirap and the Tisa River with large number of tributaries. The approximate elevation of the district ranges from 200 msl (in foothills) to 4000 msl (in mountains). The average daily temperature ranges between 24°C’ and 35 °C during summer and between 14°C and 23 °C during winter. Geologically, it has the surface build of Disang, Baruil, Tipam and Dining series of Tertiary sediments (Sharma. and Shukla, 1992). The Ziro Valley or Apatani plateau on the other hand is the home to ethnic Apatani and the Headquarter of Lower Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh. Overall, the topography is undulating with an elevation range of 1688 to 2438 msl. The plateau is ENVIS Bulletin on Himalayan Ecology 22, 2014 2014 01