Overturning a difficult situation
En masse bamboo flowering is a cyclic occurrence that often has devastating effects: it is followed by massive invasion of big field rats that get attracted to bamboo seeds. These rodents multiply fast and when seeds get exhausted, they turn their attention upon foodgrains in houses and crops in the fields, causing severe food shortages. Moreover, the bamboo crop dies immediately after flowering. So, unless it is harvested in time people are left with no bamboo for household and commercial uses till the new stock matures. This takes about four years. The seriousness of all this is evident from the fact that the last incidence of bamboo flowering in Mizoram led to the birth of insurgency in the area. And the next cycle of bamboo flowering in India's north-eastern states of Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam and Meghalaya, is due between 2004 and 2007.
It is a difficult but not an insurmountable problem. First, a buffer zone equivalent to an area that the village depends on to meet its bamboo needs, should be identified. Then bamboo from this zone, including rhizomes (underground stem), should be cut and stored for later use. Rhizome removal must be done in bands to avoid serious soil erosion problems. Care should also be taken to leave considerable tracts of contiguous land uncleared. These would serve as food