Brazil

KEY FACTS

• There are 232 bamboo species in Brazil belonging to 34 genera. 65% of them are native to the Atlantic Forest biome along the East coast, 26% to the Amazon forest, and 9% to the Cerrado (central savanna).
• As per bamboo forest extension, it is estimated that just the State of Acre houses around 1.6 million hectares of native forest with high occurrence of bamboo. It is also reckoned that the Cerrado biome, a savanna that extends through central Brazil, holds about 100,000 hectares of bamboo, mainly of Guadua chacoensis.
• The most cultivated bamboo species in Brazil include Bambusa vulgaris, Guadua angustifolia, Phylostachys aurea, Phyllostachys bambusoides, Phyllostachys nigra, and Phyllostachys pubescens.
• Some of the prevalent bamboo applications in Brazil are the manufacturing of handicrafts, its use in construction, and the production of pulp, paper, and charcoal. (All data from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation)