NE Bamboo pioneer made WBO President

Guwahati, Nov 18 (UNI) The bamboo pioneer of the North East, Kamesh Salam, has been elected as the president of the World Bamboo Organization (WBO), the highest decision making body regarding bamboo.

This was announced in the recently held annual session of the American Bamboo Society (ABS).

Mr Kalam, who has been working on the field of bamboo since the late nineties, became the first person from India to become the president of the WBO.

He is currently the Director of the Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC) here and overseeing the work of the National Bamboo Mission (NBM) in all the eastern India states.

It was the CBTC which was instrumental in preparing the detailed project report of the NBM, which now oversees all aspects of bamboo in the country.

''The importance of bamboo as a source of livelihood for millions of people in the developing world and the esthetic beauty of this environment friendly natural resource when converted into household utility through industrial process, has slowly but surely been recognized by the people and the demand has been gaining momentum and we do hope that Congress will give further impetus'' he said.

The key partners for the upcoming World Bamboo Congress include, Royal Forest Departments, Thailand, National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Dept, Thailand Kasetsart University Faculty of Forest, Thailand.

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