Sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo) is a deciduous tree, native to Nepal and the Indian subcontinent. The tree is traditionally used for making furniture, fodder and herbal medicine. It is also used as shelter-wood, and in conserving soil in degraded areas. This review focuses on the health management practices against pathogenic constraints in sissoo. Literature published till June 2020 was considered to understand the biology of the tree species and associated pathogens apart from understanding the management practices to treat the diseases. Despite the massive significance of this tree, available publications on the pathogenic risks and the strategies to cope with them are unnoticed so far. This article expects to bring together information on sissoo tree’s biology, pathogen attacks and its management. Of various fungal diseases in sissoo, this article deals with only two of the fungal diseases, Fusarium solani and Ganoderma lucidum, which cause dieback and root rot in sissoo, respectively. The findings highlighted can further reinforce the current sissoo management and pathogen control strategies and improve its health to augment high quality timber.

This article is based on a study that was carried out to identify the best hybrid combinations giving high degree of useful heterosis for economic traits such as seed and oil yield in sunflower under high saline soil in coastal saline belts of West Bengal. The present study was carried out at Nimpith (West Bengal) in 2017-18 and 2018-19 with the specific objectives of identifying the standard heterotic cross combinations of sunflower hybrids and identifying the superior sunflower hybrids suitable for growing in rabi season in West Bengal’s agro-climatic conditions. A set of sunflower hybrids along with the three national checks, LSFH-171, KBSH-53 and DRSH-1, were evaluated in a randomized block design. The degree of heterosis varied for important useful characters among the different crosses. Presence of high heterosis in certain crosses and low in others suggested that the nature of gene action varied with genetic architecture of the parents. From the study, it may be concluded that the sunflower hybrids viz. CMS 519A X TSG-255, CMS 148A X EC-201868 and CMS 207A X R-272 may be promoted for AICRP multilocation trial or coordinated trial to evaluate their performance in Indian subcontinent. It is because of their superior traits for oil yield over the best national check sunflower hybrids in given environments.

Ecotourism as a component of the sustainable green economy is one of the fastest growing segments of the tourism industry, because of its superiority compared to other types of tourism in terms of the responsibility towards people, nature and environment. In the long run, people can also be benefitted from ecotourism. This research explores the fundamental potential, challenges and opportunities of developing ecotourism in Ghorepani village of Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA), the first and largest mountainous protected area in Nepal. Primary data were collected through preliminary field visit, questionnaire survey of households, key informant interviews, focus group discussion and direct field observation. The Ghorepani village of ACA attracts many tourists because of its beautiful natural landscape, biodiversity richness, snow-capped mountains, sunrise from Poon hills and different Rhododendron forests. Overall, the key finding of this article outlines the current status, potentials, strengths, weakness, opportunities and challenges in ecological tourism development. On that basis, Ghorepani village of ACA needs to be improved with multiple outreach activities, especially to resource-dependent households.

The excess use of antimicrobial agents in the poultry industry is a significant reason for the gradual spread and increasing level of multidrug resistance bacteria. This article is based on a study in which the antibacterial activity of aqueous, methanolic, ethanolic and acetonic extracts of eight medicinal plants were evaluated by standard disc diffusion method against multidrug resistant Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. isolated from broiler meat. The multidrug resistance was checked by commercially available antibiotics using standard disc diffusion method. The results have indicated that the ethanolic extract of Boerhaavia diffusa showed maximum zone of inhibition against Escherichia coli, while Asparagus racemosus showed maximum zone of inhibition against Salmonella spp. Other experimental plant extracts had showed moderate activity against these multidrug-resistant bacteria, which can also be considered as potential source of active beneficial phytochemicals. Proper management and application of these plant extracts may be a wonderful alternative of commercially available antibiotic to minimize the risk.

Wetland ecosystems hold an important part of the world’s biodiversity and are complex social-ecological systems. Aiming to understand interdependencies among their components and to define management policies, the social-ecological trajectory of Oussudu lake – a wetland of Pondicherry region in South India – was reconstructed and analysed. During the last decades, this wetland has transformed from an irrigation tank to a lake to cater biodiversity conservation and recreation. The environmental history highlights a governance change that has contributed to “black boxing” the wetland’s functional environment and to conceal major water issues at regional and local levels. This study emphasizes the importance of implementing an approach that combines the management of this urban lake commons with a multi-scalar, socio-ecological and multi-stakeholder analysis. A trade-off on the seasonal water regime between different users - including fauna and flora - has to be found.

Himalayan mountains have rich biodiversity and species endemism. Simultaneously, critical level of socio-economic vulnerability and poverty presents significant potential for Community Based Conservation (CBC) practices aiming to provide both environmental and social benefits. Community based anti-poaching operation is poorly documented that hinders in assessing CBC practices in the field. To assess the effectiveness of Community Based Anti-Poaching Unit (CBAPU) in and around of Beeshazari lake of Chitwan National Park, Nepal, primary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaire, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Unemployment and the consequent poverty were found as the key reason of poaching and other illegal activities. Patrolling, surveillance and information gathering against illegal activities, rescue of wildlife and awareness raising activities were the major activities of CBAPU, which has significantly contributed to wildlife conservation. Inadequate financial resource was found to be the greatest hindrance for anti-poaching operation in an organized and effective way.

This paper investigated the indigenous environmental knowledge (IEK) of Borana pastoralists in Dhas district of Borana zone in Southern Ethiopia. To select participants for key informant interview and focus group discussion (FGD), snowball sampling was used to pinpoint people who have IEK of Borana pastoralists. Results show that the customary practices of Borana pastoralists that linked to multi-dimensional natural resources management (NRM) include the taxonomy of pastureland and water resources instituted on the season of utility and gazing dimensions, range scouts, herd splitting, cattle mobility, herd diversification, and bush burning. However, currently owing to various factors the IEKs of Borana pastoralists have been facing threatening challenges that question their existence. The study incorporated the capitalization on the customary institutions that advance the IEK and cattle productivity finally improving the livelihoods of the Borana pastoralists. This research intends to help various stakeholders, predominantly pastoralist development office, ecologists and other development partners in a bid to develop Borana pastoralists, to boost their sustainability, and to promote sustainable NRM.