Sustainable development is the organizing principle for sustaining finite resources which are indispensable for providing the needs of future generations on the planet Earth. The present issue covers some problems faced by forest-rich states, as also by states with predominantly hilly areas. The problems faced by these states need special attention and innovative solutions. The cover story and the special report deal with some of these issues. Our cover story raises the question as to whether a rich forest cover can prove to be a bane for states. States which have been maintaining a rich forest cover also, many a time, face hurdles in developing their infrastructure. It is in this background that there is a demand for a green bonus in lieu of environmental services provided by them, in particular, for the various environment protection measures that they have put in place. Green bonus could be provided regularly to the states as an opportunity cost in terms of the area under forest cover. It will be a big incentive to the states as well as a right step towards environment protection and sustainable development. States with rich forest cover also often face inordinate delays in getting permissions under the Forest Conservation Act for critical infrastructure projects. The approach in such cases will have to be different as compared to states with low forest cover. The cover story brings out the current status and suggests options that can be considered so that a rich forest cover is viewed as an asset, rather than a liability. The special report addresses the impact of infrastructural development on supply of services, such as water, in Uttarakhand, a forest-rich state. Like-minded institutes and NGOs have come up with innovative solutions to provide clean drinking water to the people in the hills. This assured supply of water has enabled the locals to devote more time to enhancing their livelihoods. Uttarakhand's glacial peaks are a water tower for North India. It is however ironical that today, the people of this region are in the grip of water scarcity. An increasing population has resulted in an unsustainable demand for water, and the region has seen increasing silting of rivers and streams due to unplanned road cutting and other developmental activities, soil erosion in watershed areas, and depletion of groundwater reserves. The Himmotthan Pariyojana initiative, for the past many years, is working to address the problem of safe drinking water supply and sanitation, and to strengthen the financial status of the people of Uttarakhand. What is thus needed is special development packages and significantly different approach for these strategically placed and vulnerable states, where forests provide a range of ecosystem services, worth lakhs of crores of rupees, to us.