Himachal Forest Dept Signs 5-Year MoU With ISB-BIPP to Unlock ₹22,600 Crore Forest Economy

The Himachal Pradesh Forest Department has signed a five-year MoU with the Bharti Institute of Public Policy at the Indian School of Business (ISB-BIPP) on 20th August, 2026, aiming to tap into an estimated ₹22,600 crore worth of untapped forest and pastoral economy in the state. The agreement was signed in Shimla by Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Dr Sanjay Sood and BIPP Executive Director Prof Ashwini Chhatre, with extraction planned around a sustainable, species-specific "yield sweet spot" to avoid overharvesting.

The inventory estimates ₹22,600 crore across five bioresources.

Ahead of signing the MoU, ISB-BIPP shared findings from a detailed forest inventory conducted with over 500 forest guards, who collected more than 2,00,000 tree-level records combined with satellite imagery and AI/ML analysis. Based on this data, the total untapped value across five bioresources works out to amla at ₹8,700 crore, pine needles at ₹5,500 crore, wild mangoes at ₹4,800 crore, sal seeds at ₹2,400 crore, and rhododendron flowers at ₹1,200 crore. This work was published jointly as "Counting Green Wealth," and maps were also created for seven species, including khair, bamboo, chir pine, sal, and rhododendron.

Four Areas the MoU Covers

The partnership focuses on four key areas. 

1. First, it supports forest economy development and community enterprises, particularly building women-led producer companies and connecting them to markets; the Pir Panjal Jungle Producer Company in Pangi, a women-run thangi (hazelnut) business, was highlighted as a working example. 
2. Second, it establishes a Forest Intelligence Platform, already piloted in the Palampur Forest Division before being expanded statewide. 
3. Third, it sets up a grazing portal and pastoral database under the Himachal Pradesh Grazing Policy 2026, linked to systems like Aadhaar, HimParivar, Bharat Pashudhan, and PEHEL.
4.  Fourth, it includes training and capacity-building programs for Forest Department staff and producer companies.

Important Facts About the 5-Year Pact Between Himachal Pradesh and ISB-BIPP

1. CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu called the partnership a significant step toward strengthening the state's rural economy, noting plans to eventually expand the initiative to cover other valuable local species like harad, bel, and thangi. 
2. The data collected under this project is already being used in Palampur's forest working plan, marking the first instance of such use, and the MoU aims to gradually extend this approach across the entire state.