State Forest Department of Himachal Pradesh and Indian School of Business (ISB) estimate ₹22,600-crore forest economic potential

Key facts

• The State Forest Department of Himachal Pradesh and the Bharti Institute of Public Policy (BIPP) at the Indian School of Business (ISB) prepared a report titled “Green wealth: Towards a future ready people’s forest economy in Himachal Pradesh”.
• The report estimates the annual economic potential of Himachal Pradesh’s forests at ₹22,600 crore, which is more than double the previously recorded value of ₹10,873 crore.
• The study identifies the annual economic value of specific resources as Amla fruit (₹8,700 crore), pine needles (₹5,500 crore), wild mangoes (₹4,800 crore), Sal seeds (₹2,400 crore), Rhododendron flowers (₹1,200 crore), bamboo-based economy (₹760 crore), and Khair timber industry (₹500 crore).
• The report proposes an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered “forest intelligence” system to provide real-time monitoring and reverse a 29 per cent decline in provisioning ecosystem services recorded over the past decade.
• The Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) had previously estimated the Total Economic Value (TEV) of Himachal Pradesh’s forests at nearly ₹92,952 crore.