JICA and BCG Build India’s First Digital Public Infrastructure for Forests with Forest Stack Launch

New Delhi:  The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) have unveiled India’s first-ever Forest Stack Blueprint – a pioneering initiative that uses AI and digital public infrastructure to scale forest conservation and strengthen climate governance. The Blueprint was launched at the National Partnership Forum on “Scaling Forest Conservation with AI & Digital Public Infrastructure” jointly convened by BCG and JICA. The workshop, supported by the JICA DX Lab and the JICA India Office, brought together senior leadership from forest management, policy making & funding including the National CAMPA CEO, senior Forest Officers from Rajasthan and the Head of JICA DX Lab, alongside representatives from multilateral development banks, carbon market players, philanthropies, climate financiers, researchers, and technology innovators.

India’s success with Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) has already reshaped governance and inclusion in domains such as finance and healthcare. The same principles – openness, interoperability, and shared digital assets – are now being applied to natural resource management. The Forest Stack, envisioned by JICA and BCG is the country’s first DPI for forestry designed to make forest management more measurable, transparent, and scalable. The Forest Stack carries the potential to unlock substantial economic and social value by improving forest health, governance, and livelihoods, by enabling innovative AI-enabled solutions.

“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 uniting global expertise with India’s digital advancement and AI-driven innovation, it offers a model that can help nations achieve better environmental outcomes through data, transparency, and innovation”, said Yushi Nagano, Head of JICA DXLab.

As showcased during the workshop, Rajasthan has become the first state in India to operationalize the Forest Stack model at scale, demonstrating the transformative potential of a shared digital backbone for forestry. The DigiVan system launched by Hon’ble Chief Minister of Rajasthan in March 2025, enables digital monitoring of 3.3 Mn Ha of forest area with over, 2,000 plantation sites planned annually. Nearly ₹650 crore in plantation budgets are being managed transparently through digital workflows, with over 75% adoption among field officers, and 200+ officers trained on the platform.

“Through Forest Stack, Rajasthan has shown how digital systems can empower field staff, improve transparency, and integrate technology into forest management. It is a model of how innovation can meet needs of both people and planet.” said K.C.A. Arun Prasad, PD CRESEP, Rajasthan Forest Department.”

At the core of the Forest Stack lies the Forest Data Exchange – an interoperable, standards-driven data-sharing platform. The Exchange, by making available 50+ forestry & wildlife-related datasets, has the potential to power a wide range of use cases, alongside AI-driven applications.

The Exchange is also envisioned to enable ecosystem-wide innovation. The Forest Stack Open Innovation Challenge, concluded in July 2025 in Rajasthan invited startups, researchers, and academic institutions to build solutions on top of the Stack – receiving over 185 proposals ranging from AI-based fire-risk prediction to biodiversity monitoring. The challenge highlighted how open data and collaborative innovation can accelerate progress. Partnerships with cross-industry players such as PowerGrid, DCM Sriram, AWS are testament to this.

The learnings from Rajasthan’s implementation have been consolidated into The Forest Stack Blueprint, a comprehensive guide that enables other states to design and scale similar forestry applications. The report outlines an end-to-end approach – from data readiness, functional architecture to governance structures. A complementary open-source GitHub repository hosts validated analytical models. These assets provide ready-to-use analytical models that can cut implementation time by up to 50% accelerating rollout timelines and lowering costs.

“This report is not just a framework – it is a call to action,” said Sushma Vasudevan, Managing Director & Partner, BCG. “It invites governments, academia, and startups to collaborate, ensuring that the forests of tomorrow are governed by data, driven by insight, and sustained by trust”

The forum concluded with a shared call to action to co-build digital use cases across geographies. The discussions reaffirmed a shared belief that collaboration, data, and technology will be the cornerstones of sustainable forestry and climate-ready governance.