Forests are the basis of life. Reckless destruction of forests in our country has affected adversely the climate and landscape, e.g. soil erosion, extension of desert, occurrence of floods, increase in wasteland, irregularity in climate, drought, fall in the level of underground water, loss of wildlife, environmental pollution, etc. The forests are being cleared to obtain more space for human habitation, agriculture and industries. Hence, it is compulsory to save and conserve forests to overcome the environmental hazards.
The first forest policy in India was adopted in 1894. A new forest policy was declared on 31st May, 1954 after independence, specifying that there should be forests on 33% of land area.
In 1988, a new forest policy was declared with three aims:
1. Environmental stability.
2. Conservation of plants and wildlife, and
3. To meet the basic needs of the common people.
Besides the government is running various programmes and plans for the forest conservation. Social Forestry Scheme, Establishment of National Parks and Sanctuaries are some of them. The Forest Research Institute, Dehradun and the Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur are making efforts to increase the land under forests and to check the expansion of deserts. Different types of forest awards are given by the government of Rajasthan in order to encourage the efforts of forest conservation like Vaniki Pandit Award, Amrita Devi Award, Vriksha Vardhak Award, Vriksha Mitra Award, etc.
