Himachal Pradesh's primary forest bio-resources carry a cumulative annual value of ₹22,600 crore, according to a joint report released on Friday, 19 June. The study argues that this natural capital, if systematically unlocked, can strengthen the state's fiscal position, generate rural employment, and help India meet its national climate commitments.

About the Report

The report, titled 'Counting Green Wealth: Towards a Future-Ready People's Forest Economy in Himachal Pradesh', was compiled jointly by the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department and the Bharti Institute of Public Policy. It draws on a large-scale field effort involving over 500 forest guards and nearly 2,00,000 geo-tagged observations, integrating ground-level data with satellite imagery to build AI and machine learning models for species mapping, biomass estimation, and forest resource assessment.

Scale of Himachal's Forest Cover

Approximately 68 per cent of Himachal Pradesh's geographical area is legally classified as forest — an unusually high concentration of natural capital for a relatively small mountain economy. According to assessments based on Forest Survey of India data, forest cover expanded from roughly 14,353 sq km in 2003 to approximately 15,580 sq km in 2023, raising the share of forest cover from 25.7 per cent to around 28 per cent of the state's total area. Tree cover has additionally grown to about 855 sq km, or roughly 1.5 per cent of the state's area.

Carbon Stock and Climate Significance

Himachal Pradesh's forests store an estimated 258 million tons of carbon across biomass and soil pools, positioning the state as a significant contributor to India's terrestrial carbon sink. This is directly relevant to India's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which commits the country to creating an additional carbon sink of 2.5–3.0 billion tons of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030, alongside a long-term net-zero emissions target by 2070.

The report notes that a scientifically credible carbon strategy requires more than aggregate forest-cover statistics — it demands species-level inventories, above-ground biomass monitoring, spatially explicit carbon accounting, and uncertainty-informed systems for monitoring, reporting, and verification.

Biochar and Biofuel Initiatives

The state-supported biochar initiative — which converts pine needles, invasive lantana, bamboo, and other biomass residues into high-value industrial feedstocks — is cited in the report as evidence that problematic biomass can be repurposed productively. According to the report, the success of these biochar and biofuel campaigns demonstrates that frontline forest staff are critical co-producers of the state's intelligence layer, ensuring long-term institutional ownership and adaptive learning. The report argues that this positions Himachal Pradesh as a potential national demonstrator for climate-positive forest economy pathways.

What Comes Next

The report describes itself as an important step in building the data and analytical foundation needed to unlock the state's forest economy and climate potential. Policymakers and researchers are expected to use its findings to design targeted interventions linking forest resource monetisation with rural livelihoods and carbon market participation. Whether the state can translate this valuation into actionable fiscal and climate policy will be the defining test of the initiative.