The Code - sustainable management of forests and biodiversity — has stressed the need to carry out forest conservation without affecting the livelihood of villagers. It has been prepared by the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun. The survey shall entail collecting information on socio-economic status of the people living in and around forest areas and their dependence on the forests for their livelihood needs, said the document. It said that the survey should include dependency on timber, fuel wood, fodder, grazing and other non-timber forest produces besides livelihood aspects. Since this is also a very important aspect of forestry, it has to be done with all seriousness, said the document which was prepared over a period of five years by involving many organizations and experts. The document also noted that the fringe villages have been a major cause of forest fires due to increased dependency of people on forests.