CHANDIGARH: The Himachal Pradesh Forest Department has signed a five year MoU with the Bharti Institute of Public Policy, Indian School of Business (ISB BIPP), to tap an estimated Rs 22,600 crore in untapped forest and pastoral economy across five bioresources in the state, with extraction restricted to a sustainable, species-wise ‘yield sweet spot’.
The MoU was signed at Shimla on Wednesday by Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Dr Sanjay Sood on behalf of the Forest Department and Executive Director, BIPP, ISB, Prof Ashwini Chhatre on behalf of the organisation.
Ahead of the signing of the MoU, the ISB BIPP team presented findings from a joint forest inventory, in which more than 500 forest guards collected over 2,00,000 tree-level records and species tagged images, which were combined with satellite imagery and AI/ML and then validated on the ground.
Maps have also been generated for seven species, including khair, bamboo, chir pine, amla, wild mango, sal and rhododendron, and published jointly as ‘Counting Green Wealth’.
The inventory estimates Rs 22,600 crore in untapped value across five bioresources: amla (Rs 8,700 crore), pine needles (Rs 5,500 crore), wild mangoes (Rs 4,800 crore), sal seeds (Rs 2,400 crore) and rhododendron flowers (Rs 1,200 crore), with extraction restricted to a sustainable, species wise ‘yield sweet spot’.
The Pir Panjal Jungle Producer Company in Pangi, a women owned enterprise in the thangi (hazelnut) business, was presented as a working example.
The data is already being used in the Palampur Forest Division’s working plan, the first such instance, and the MoU will extend this to further divisions, eventually covering the entire state.
Speaking on the occasion, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the partnership between the Forest Department and ISB BIPP is a vital step towards strengthening Himachal’s rural economy and will benefit the state for years to come.
“We are well positioned to be among the first in the country to bring science, local communities and the government together to transform forest governance. As we build on this momentum, I look forward to expanding this initiative to maximise the potential of abundant local species, such as medicinal plants like harad and bel, and further assessing the nutritional and commercial value of thangi (hazelnut),” he said.
Prof Ashwini Chhatre, Executive Director of the Bharti Institute of Public Policy, Indian School of Business (ISB BIPP), said, “This partnership reflects what is possible when rigorous science is grounded in field reality. Over 500 forest guards spent months gathering this data, giving the estimates real credibility for economic decisions.”
“The data does not stop at a report. It is already shaping Palampur’s working plan, and this MoU extends that intelligence layer and the grazing database state wide,” said Dr Aarushi Jain, Director, Bharti Institute of Public Policy, ISB.
The MoU covers four areas: forest economy and community enterprises, including building women led producer companies and market linkages; a Forest Intelligence Platform, piloted in Palampur before a state wide rollout; a grazing portal and pastoral database under the Himachal Pradesh Grazing Policy, 2026, linked to Aadhaar, HimParivar, Bharat Pashudhan and the PEHEL scheme; and training and capacity building for Forest Department staff and producer companies.