The Naina Devi Himalayan Bird Conservation Reserve was established through a collaborative process involving the forest department and the local community to preserve the rich biodiversity in the Kumaon division of Uttarakhand state in India. This conservation effort was developed to incorporate local knowledge and priorities, strengthening that meaningful community involvement is vital for the reserve’s sustainable management. The Conservation Reserve's goals remain unmet due to poor management, limited funding, and insufficient institutional support from the government, resulting in unfocused conservation efforts. The present work undertakes an empirical assessment of community involvement, analyzing current management practices as well as highlighting opportunities to enhance community participation in the reserve's management and conservation. This study presents a significant opportunity to strengthen collaborative conservation efforts and offer actionable insights to improve collaboration between the reserve's management and the local community. Based on research findings on three major interventions, viz., community participation in capacity-building programmes, community participation in reserve through management committee, and benefit-sharing with the community, the present paper discussed valuable insights and proposed suggestions to underscore the need for a more inclusive and well-supported management framework to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Conservation Reserve.

The first colour photographic evidence of Agrostophyllum flavidum in natural habitat is presented here along with dissected floral parts. The species is added to the orchid flora of Arunachal Pradesh and threat status has been assessed.

A species of the genus Euphorbia- E. bifida Hook. and Arn. (Euphorbiaceae: subgenus Chamaesyce) is reported for the first time as a new record for Indian flora from the Kamorta Island of Nicobar group of Islands with brief taxonomic description based on our collected specimens. In addition to the description, habitat ecology, details on population distribution, key to the species of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, photos of the collected specimens and the conservation status are also provided.

While documenting the bryoflora of Sirumalai Hills and Nilgiri Hills in the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, the moss Sematophyllum substrumulosum was discovered which is a new record for India and only the second record for Asia. A description, photographic plate and a distribution map are provided to help bryologists collect this species elsewhere.

This paper presents the first report of Cyperus surinamensis, a newly naturalized sedge species, from the Gangetic plains of West Bengal, marking its second record in India. Initially documented in 2013 from the coastal regions of Kerala in India, the species is native to the New World. Its occurrence in West Bengal highlights the expanding range of this species within the Indian subcontinent. The paper provides a comprehensive description of the plant's morphological characteristics along with a map and field photographs to facilitate identification.