Forest Stack: Transforming Forest Conservation and Management Through Digital Public Infrastructure

Forests are vital in maintaining ecological balance, supporting biodiversity, and mitigating climate change by sequestering carbon. Globally, forests cover approximately 31% of the Earth’s land area and are home to about 80% of terrestrial species of animals, plants, and fungi. However, forests worldwide are increasingly threatened by deforestation, fragmentation, human-wildlife conflicts, and inadequate monitoring of protected areas, which often leads to illegal activities like encroachment or poaching. These issues demand innovative solutions to manage forest ecosystems sustainably.

The Forest Stack is conceptualized to address these challenges by creating a unified Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for forest management. The Forest Stack envisages to integrate data, technology, and governance into a coherent system to support forest conservation, enhance biodiversity, and unlock economic opportunities such as carbon credits. In India, the Forest Stack has the potential to generate an economic impact of USD 18-22 billion annually by 2030.

This report, a collaboration between the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), outlines the vision, value, principles, and foundational elements for a Forest Stack. It emphasizes the critical role of multi-stakeholder collaboration—spanning government, private sector, academia, and international organizations—in driving the implementation and maximizing the impact of a Forest Stack.