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st and founder of the Environmental' - - Bamboo Foundation (EBF), believes Bamboo Is that "eco-sensible eco-nomics" is one I _ solution to the global resources di- Eueryc.vbere lemma. "We can't expect business to And So Useful take a loss for the sake of the environ- ment;' she says. "We need to empha- sisesolutions that also allow for healthy ? Bamboo has one of the w-idesb profit, and I'm convinced an impor- ranging habitats of all plant species tant answer is bamboo." In one book and between 12 and li00 species alone, more than 1500 uses for bamboo are native to every continent except are suggested, she says. Antarctica. ' Paper, for example, is made from ? Ithas a tensile strength that rivals bamboo, the fibres of which are longer steel. than those of softwoods, very- strong ? It is excellent for erosion control, ~ ,'t., and exceptionally flexible-all charao- having anet-like root system that teristics conducive to making high- "stitches" the topsoil. qualitypaper.Facialtissue,toffettissue, ? It has a range of uses perhaps bond and stationery are already being unequalled by any other resou rce. It made from bamboo in India and China, was used in Thomas Edison's first countries in which bamboo is the larg- light bulb as the filament; is being est single renewable resource for the studied as a potential cure Eor pulp industry. Pakistan, Burma, Indo- asthma;and was used to constn~ct a nesia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Kenv? 230-metre suspension bridge. and Brazil also have large-scale pulp industries. With world paper demand increasing 59~ a year, what is left of the world's forests cannot continue to cope with demand. Consequently, bamboo is getting much more attention from paper manufacturers wherever it grows. Paper has been made from bam- boo in China for 2000 nears but today _ ~ output by India is greater. One of the most exciting recent nd- - vances inbamboo-product research has _ - ~ ~ been the development of a range of ~S +r ~ building materials in the tcood-panel r~.t _ industry. Several varieties of "plyboo" (ply bamboo) are proving acceptable substitutes for plywood. Some comp- anies are making plyboo with com- pressedfibres rchile others are using a woven-matting process, in which the mats, made by villagers in the tradi- tional wan, are soaked in a ruin and then heat-pressed (the thickness of ~ the plyboo being determined by the _ E _ r~~ _ - ;~C; ,;f number of mats pressed together) i~ +~~~y i ~ .yr ~ - a Parquet Eloonng ales that rig al any ~ t 'i 1, ~ ~ similar product for beauty, cost and ` n s t~~ durability are being made in China. - ~,3n~t. , Laminated lumber, concrete furors, _ pattideboard.veneer-facedpaneli and - ~ fibreboard are among other bamboo products being used in building con- , ~ y, , struction.SlostaremadeinChina.The --i;i?, _ cost of ph~boo is still slighter higher 'Yr.~_ ~ `~Jt~ than for ph~wood but this would come i iii; - ' ~ Above leh: the Environmental Bamboo Foundotion office on Bali; leh: a house made of bamboo