This paper outlines certain ideas of forest conservation and sustainable management ingrained in pre-historic India. Apparently, both productive as well as protective aspects of forest vegetation were emphasized during the Vedic period (` 4500 and 1800 BC; c. 8000-1000 BC - eds.) In particular, the religious texts such as Aranyaks ("forest" works), Upanishad and Smritis contain many descriptions on the uses and management of forests, and highlight sustainability as an implicit theme.