The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) have introduced India’s inaugural Forest Stack Blueprint, a groundbreaking initiative that leverages AI and digital public infrastructure to enhance forest conservation and bolster climate governance. The Blueprint was revealed during the National Partnership Forum on “Scaling Forest Conservation with AI & Digital Public Infrastructure,” organized by BCG and JICA. This workshop, backed by the JICA DX Lab and the JICA India Office, gathered senior leaders from forest management, policy-making, and funding, including the National CAMPA CEO, senior Forest Officers from Rajasthan, and the Head of JICA DX Lab, along with representatives from multilateral development banks, carbon market participants, philanthropic organizations, climate financiers, researchers, and tech innovators.
India’s achievements in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) have already transformed governance and inclusion in sectors like finance and healthcare. The same principles—openness, interoperability, and shared digital assets—are now being applied to natural resource management. The Forest Stack, conceived by JICA and BCG, is the nation’s first DPI designed specifically for forestry, aimed at making forest management more measurable, transparent, and scalable. This initiative has the potential to generate significant economic and social benefits by enhancing forest health, governance, and livelihoods through innovative AI solutions. Yushi Nagano, Head of JICA DXLab, stated, “The Forest Stack exemplifies how open, data-first, and AI-ready platforms can empower institutions to act faster and collaborate smarter for sustainability by connecting data, people, and purpose.
By merging global expertise with India’s digital progress and AI-driven innovation, it provides a model that can assist nations in achieving improved environmental outcomes through data, transparency, and innovation.” During the workshop, it was noted that Rajasthan has become the first state in India to implement the Forest Stack model at scale, showcasing the transformative possibilities of a shared digital framework for forestry. The DigiVan system, inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Rajasthan in March 2025, enables digital oversight of 3.3 million hectares of forest area with over 2,000 plantation sites planned each year.
Approximately ₹650 crore in plantation budgets are being managed transparently through digital workflows, achieving over 75% adoption among field officers, with more than 200 officers trained on the platform. K.C.A. Arun Prasad, PD CRESEP from the Rajasthan Forest Department, remarked, “Through Forest Stack, Rajasthan has demonstrated how digital systems can empower field staff, enhance transparency, and integrate technology into forest management. It is a model illustrating how innovation can address the needs of both people and the planet.” At the heart of the Forest Stack is the Forest Data Exchange, an interoperable, standards-driven platform for data sharing.
By providing access to over 50 forestry and wildlife-related datasets, the Exchange has the potential to support a variety of applications, including AI-driven initiatives. It is also designed to foster ecosystem-wide innovation. The Forest Stack Open Innovation Challenge, which concluded in July 2025 in Rajasthan, invited startups, researchers, and academic institutions to develop solutions on the Stack, receiving over 185 proposals for projects ranging from AI-based fire-risk prediction to biodiversity monitoring. This challenge underscored how open data and collaborative innovation can expedite progress. Collaborations with cross-industry entities such as PowerGrid, DCM Sriram, and AWS serve as evidence of this.
The insights gained from Rajasthan’s implementation have been compiled into The Forest Stack Blueprint, a detailed guide that enables other states to create and scale similar forestry applications. This report outlines a comprehensive approach—from data readiness and functional architecture to governance structures. An accompanying open-source GitHub repository hosts validated analytical models, providing ready-to-use tools that can reduce implementation time by up to 50%, thereby expediting rollout timelines and decreasing costs. Sushma Vasudevan, Managing Director & Partner at BCG, stated, “This report is not just a framework; it is a call to action.
It invites governments, academia, and startups to collaborate, ensuring the forests of tomorrow are governed by data, driven by insight, and sustained by trust.” The forum concluded with a unified call to action to develop digital use cases across different regions. The discussions reinforced a common belief that collaboration, data, and technology will be the foundation of sustainable forestry and climate-resilient governance. The Forest Stack Blueprint is co-developed by JICA and BCG, in partnership with the Rajasthan Forest Department. The open-source repository is accessible at https://github.com/datakaveri/Forest-Stack.
