E-Paper
Himachal forest department inks pact with ISB to realise forest economy potential
The Pir Panjal Jungle Producer Company in Pangi, a women-owned enterprise in the thangi (hazelnut) business, was presented as a working example
The Himachal Pradesh forest department signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Bharti Institute of Public Policy, Indian School of Business (ISB-BIPP), in the presence of chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday to realise the state’s untapped forest and pastoral economy through science and technology-enabled governance.
Speaking on the occasion, the CM said “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).”
Ahead of the signing the MoU, the team of ISB-BIPP presented findings from a joint forest inventory, wherein over 500 forest guards collected more than 2,00,000 tree-level records and species-tagged images, combined with satellite imagery and AI/ML, then validated on the ground. Maps have been generated for seven species including khair, bamboo, chir pine, amla, wild mango, sal, and rhododendron published jointly as counting green wealth.
The inventory estimates ₹22,600 crore in untapped value across five bio-resources: amla ( ₹8,700 crore), pine needles ( ₹5,500 crore), wild mangoes ( ₹4,800 crore), sal seeds ( ₹2,400 crore) and rhododendron flowers ( ₹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 already feeds Palampur Forest Division’s working plan, the first such instance, and the MoU will extend this to further divisions eventually covering the entire state.
The MoU covers four areas: forest economy and community enterprises, building women-led producer companies and market linkages; a forest intelligence platform, piloted in Palampur before state-wide rollout; a grazing portal and pastoral database under the Himachal Pradesh Grazing Policy, 2026, linked to Aadhaar, Him Pariwar, Bharat Pashudhan and the PEHEL scheme and training and capacity building for forest department staff and producer companies.
