Plastic pollution is ubiquitous in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Plastic waste exposed to the environment creates problems and is of significant concern for all life forms. Plastic production and accumulation in the natural environment are occurring at an unprecedented rate due to indiscriminate use, inadequate recycling, and deposits in landfills. In 2019, the global production of plastic was at 370 million tons, with only 9% of it being recycled, 12% being incinerated, and the remaining left in the environment or landfills. The leakage of plastic wastes into terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems is occurring at an unprecedented rate. The management of plastic waste is a challenging problem for researchers, policymakers, citizens, and other stakeholders. Therefore, here, we summarize the current understanding and concerns of plastics pollution (microplastics or nanoplastics) on natural ecosystems. The overall goal of this review is to provide background assessment on the adverse effects of plastic pollution on natural ecosystems; interlink the management of plastic pollution with sustainable development goals; address the policy initiatives under transdisciplinary approaches through life cycle assessment, circular economy, and sustainability; identify the knowledge gaps; and provide current policy recommendations. Plastic waste management through community involvement and socio-economic inputs in different countries are presented and discussed. Plastic ban policies and public awareness are likely the major mitigation interventions. The need for life cycle assessment and circularity to assess the potential environmental impacts and resources used throughout a plastic product’s life span is emphasized. Innovations are needed to reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover plastics and find eco-friendly replacements for plastics. Empowering and educating communities and citizens to act collectively to minimize plastic pollution and use alternative options for plastics must be promoted and enforced. Plastic pollution is a global concern that must be addressed collectively with the utmost priority.

Lava is a small hamlet situated 34 km. east of the Kalimpong subdivision in Darjeeling district of the state of West Bengal, India. Rishyap/Rishop, which nestles amidst the hidden hills of Neora Valley is around 9 km. from Lava. The forest of Neora Valley is very close to Lava and is an excellent place of Indian biodiversity, which spreads over an area of 88 km 2 . The main objective of the present research work was to construct the social, environmental, cultural and economic framework of the Lava and Rishop area and to highlight the proposals for sustainable management policies of those ecologically sensitive zones. The study was done in April, 2014 by visiting Lava, Rishop and Neora Valley and the information was gathered through field survey and direct contact with common people and authorized centers of the regions. Surveys on the agriculture, horticulture, livestock, water management, education, culture, health, waste management, transport and biodiversity were done in these areas. Lava, Rishop and the Neora valley areas have become the prominent tourist spots of West Bengal for pleasure trips, biological and geographical excursions and medical research works. In spite of getting so much attention in the recent time, the areas are not adequately developed. There is an urgent need for implementing sustainable management systems in the areas for the betterment of the socio-environmental structures. Some of the possible management strategies have been suggested for maintaining the social, environmental, economic and ecological balance of the region.

The Eastern Himalayas have significant impact on the climate and biodiversity of the Indian Subcontinent. The Himalayan region has shown consistent warming trends in recent times, which can significantly affect the biodiversity, agriculture and local livelihoods. Many scattered hamlets are found in this zone and some of them are proximate to the forests enriched with endemic biodiversity. Icchey Gaon (27.1336oN, 88.5657oE; Altitude 5,600 feet) is a small village situated in Kalimpong district, India in the Eastern Himalayas. Icchey Gaon is situated proximate to Neora Valley National Park, which is located in the Eastern Himalayas as a global ‘biodiversity hotspot’. The village is one of the newest tourist destinations in the Eastern Himalayas. The village area is also a centre of Cinchona plantation since 19th century. The adjacent areas of Icchey Gaon have extensive coverage of Cinchona plantation. The survey work was done in April, 2017 by visiting Icchey Gaon village in Kalimpong, West Bengal. The study focuses on an interdisciplinary understanding of the physical and cultural environment of the forest and mountain areas. The survey work integrates the perspectives of human and social ecology, ecosystem services and sustainable development. Primary data were gathered through field survey and direct contact with common people and authorized centres of the region. Structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews supplemented by field notes were arranged to collect data from the village areas in Icchey Gaon. The length of each interview was about 40–50 minutes and was supplemented by field notes. Focuses were given on demography, agriculture, livestock management, traditional water management, education, culture, health, waste management, disaster management, biodiversity, joint forest management, ecosystem services and human animal conflict. Biodiversity of the region was documented by visiting the forest areas and the nature interpretation centre situated in Neora Valley National Park. There is an urgent need for implementing an integrated sustainable development system for the conservation of forest ecosystems and traditional human settlements in and around Neora Valley forest. Management strategies have been suggested for conserving the forest biodiversity and socio-economic condition of the hamlet. Bringing local communities into protected area management can have significant positive impact on long-term biodiversity conservation in the transboundary Himalayan landscapes. Extensive study is necessary in the Eastern Himalayas to explore the socio-ecological conditions in the context of climate change.

The concept of ‘ecosystem service’ has gained momentum in the twenty-first century to bridge the gap between human–nature interactions. However, the challenge remains to map the flow of ecosystem services (ES) for their efficient management. Among the multiple existing methods, biophysical assessments provide better knowledge of the state of the ecosystem and its mapping for complimentary services. Trait–service linkage is one of the tools to reliably link biodiversity with ES if we better understand the role functional traits play in the underlying ecosystem processes. In this paper, we have performed a bibliometric analysis of published literature on ES and plant functional traits to identify the current state of knowledge on trait–service linkage, biases, research gaps, and challenges. There was a skewed geographical basis for trait–service linkage studies; most studies were conducted in Europe and North America. The majority of the research focused on supporting and regulating ES, mainly carbon sequestration, biomass production, and climate regulation, using a particular set of vegetative traits, such as leaf, root, and plant height, and ignored most regeneration traits, except for a few flower traits. A matrix to quantify the association between ES and selected plant traits (specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, leaf area, leaf nitrogen content, vegetation height, wood density, canopy density, root length, root density, flowering time, flower color and flower size) revealed that the two leaf traits (specific leaf area and leaf dry matter content) in the linkage have contrasting associations with multiple ES. The study illustrated that there is still a considerable research gap in linking plant traits with essential ES (biomass production, climate and water regulation). Thus, suggest future studies on ES should focus more on trait–service linkage across major ecosystems to underpin key ecosystem processes for better sustenance of ES and human well-being. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s44177-023-00048-2.