Economic, social and environmental assessment of bamboo for infrastructure development

Abstract: The economic, social and environmental assessment of bamboo was necessary in this study, because there is a shift by world’s industries to its cultivation and usage. The increasing demand for wood and its products, coupled with the high depletion of the forest has contributed to the world global warming and as a result of this problem, most industries are now advocating for the use of natural materials for infrastructure works. Bamboo being a multifunctional, fast growing and a renewable plant was considered as an alternative to timber from the forest. Its wide range of uses as wood and wood product has add greatly to the agricultural economy as this has created an employment and income generation to the rural poor who goes into its cultivation and it has contributed to community development and revenues to governments. The social assessment also looked at how bamboos investment in a geographical area affects the livelihood of the people looking at the benefits, risks and threats related to the industry for the local people whilst the environmental assessment explores the plantation’s impacts on local forests, non-timber forest products, water resources and biodiversity, paying attention to the interlinkages between social and environmental assessment. The fast diminishing of the forest cover, degradation of environment and fast deteriorating ecology threatens the very existence of man and animals. The development of the bamboo resources globally will greatly add to the environment and the ecological balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the impact of the industry on the social life of people, as we consider the threats related to the industry in the locality. The study shows that a planned, scientific and holistic approach to the cultivation, processing and management of bamboo on a sustained basis will make bamboo a sustainable alternative material for infrastructure development and can play a significant role in the restoration and rejuvenation of rural and national economies by those who goes into its cultivation. By adoption and implementation of an appropriate technology on bamboo and its products, the infrastructure needs in most African countries will be attained