The non-professional volunteers are commonly used in biodiversity assessment due to lack of experts. The bird identification skills of indigenous Lepcha community have been recognized and the accuracy of data generated by them has been assesed. Bird sampling was done using point count method along the transects in three locations in Dzongu, North Sikkim. Two observers, a trained ‘researcher’ and a local Lepcha folk referred as citizen scientist independently sampled birds (species by former and varieties by the latter).

The Khangchendzonga National Park, located in Sikkim is a part of the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot. Traditional sheep herding practices in the park based on village consultations and field surveys to understand the population trend, migration pattern, fodder preferences, incomes and benefit sharing, ecological impacts and risk mitigation techniques were analysed.

Large cardamom (Amomum subulatum) is a perennial cash crop grown under the Himalayan alder (Alnus nepalensis) or mix forest tree species in the hills of Nepal, Darjeeling hills, Sikkim and Bhutan. The cardamom based agroforestry system in the Himalayas has proved to be a sustainable land use practice at the landscape level supporting multiple functions and ecosystem services.