Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh Forest Department has entered into a five-year partnership with the Bharti Institute of Public Policy (BIPP), Indian School of Business (ISB), to harness the State’s untapped forest and pastoral economy through scientific data, technology and community participation.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Dr. Sanjay Sood signed the agreement on behalf of the Forest Department, while Executive Director of BIPP, ISB, Prof. Ashwini Chhatre signed on behalf of the institute. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was present at the ocasion.
The partnership aims to strengthen forest governance and create new economic opportunities for rural and forest-dependent communities by combining scientific research, field-level data, technology and government interventions.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Sukhu said the collaboration was an important step towards strengthening Himachal Pradesh’s rural economy and would generate benefits for the State over the long term.
He said Himachal Pradesh was well placed to bring together science, local communities and the government to transform forest governance. The Chief Minister also stressed the need to explore the potential of locally available species, including medicinal plants such as harad and bel, besides assessing the nutritional and commercial value of thangi (hazelnut).
Forest wealth estimated at ₹22,600 crore
The MoU signing followed a presentation by the ISB-BIPP team on the findings of a joint forest inventory carried out in Himachal Pradesh.
More than 500 forest guards participated in the exercise and collected over 2 lakh tree-level records and species-tagged images. The field information was combined with satellite imagery and artificial intelligence and machine learning tools and subsequently validated on the ground.
The exercise has resulted in maps for seven species, including khair, bamboo, chir pine, amla, wild mango, sal and rhododendron. The findings have been published jointly under the title “Counting Green Wealth.”
According to the inventory, five major bio-resources have an estimated untapped economic value of ₹22,600 crore. These include:
- Amla: ₹8,700 crore
- Pine needles: ₹5,500 crore
- Wild mangoes: ₹4,800 crore
- Sal seeds: ₹2,400 crore
- Rhododendron flowers: ₹1,200 crore
Officials, however, emphasised that economic utilisation of these resources would have to remain within sustainable, species-specific limits to protect the ecological balance of the State’s forests.
Palampur working plan becomes first application
The Pir Panjal Jungle Producer Company in Pangi, a women-owned enterprise involved in the thangi (hazelnut) business, was presented as an example of how scientific data and community enterprises can support sustainable forest-based livelihoods.
The data generated through the initiative has already been incorporated into the Palampur Forest Division’s working plan, making it the first such application of the forest intelligence approach.
Under the new MoU, the initiative will now be expanded to other forest divisions with the eventual objective of establishing a statewide system.
Prof. Ashwini Chhatre said the strength of the exercise lay in combining rigorous scientific analysis with extensive field-level information.
He said more than 500 forest guards had spent months collecting data, giving the estimates a strong ground-level foundation and making them more useful for economic and management decisions.
Dr. Aarushi Jain, Director of the Bharti Institute of Public Policy, ISB, said the initiative had moved beyond the stage of producing a report.
She said the data was already being used in the Palampur working plan and that the new partnership would extend the intelligence platform and grazing database across the State.
Four key areas covered under MoU
The five-year MoU will focus on four broad areas.
The first is Forest Economy and Community Enterprises, aimed at promoting women-led producer companies, strengthening forest-based enterprises and developing market linkages.
The second involves establishing a Forest Intelligence Platform, initially being piloted in Palampur and subsequently proposed for statewide rollout.
The third component is a grazing portal and pastoral database under the Himachal Pradesh Grazing Policy, 2026. The database will be linked with Aadhaar, Him Pariwar, Bharat Pashudhan and the PEHEL scheme.
The fourth area is training and capacity building for Forest Department personnel and producer companies so that scientific data and technology can be effectively used in forest management and enterprise development.
