Developing forest-based enterprises in Meghalaya

With around half of its land area still forested, Meghalaya – one of the eight states of Northeastern India - has high potential for the development of forest-based enterprises. There are, however, various constraints to the development of forest-based enterprises as demonstrated by the noticeable underdevelopment of industries in the state and the dearth of information regarding the status of existing forest-based industries - an important element to guiding targeted interventions. This policy brief presents an overview of existing forest-based enterprises in Meghalaya, focussing on some of the most important forest products and identifying key areas and pathways to developing forest-based enterprises that would generate income and employment for the poor.