Palm oil derived from Elaeis guineensis, Elaeis oleifera and their hybrids represents about 40 percent of all the vegetable oils produced in the world,  preferred due to its higher yield compared to other oilseeds and lower price. Government of India has launched the National Mission on Edible Oils- Oil Palm (NMEO-OP), in 2021 which proposes to increase the area to 1 Mha and crude palm oil production to 1.12 Mt by 2026 and 2.8 Mt by 2029-30.  One of the potential areas identified is the Northeast India, and in this context this review examines the experiences of oil palm planting in the Northeast India, the present programmes and its socio-economic and ecological impacts, besides the consumption, supply and import of edible oils which have necessitated the oil palm expansion.

Orchidaceae is ecologically sensitive and morphologically diverse angiospermic family of the plant kingdom. The present study investigates the diversity and distribution patterns of endemic orchids of Indian Himalayan Region (IHR). Total 115 endemic orchid taxa (114 species; 1 variety) were recorded from IHR. Endemic orchid richness was found maximum in Arunachal Pradesh (49), followed by Sikkim (26), and Meghalaya (21). Bulbophyllum (13) emerged as the most dominant genera followed by Dendrobium (11). Along the elevation gradient a monotonic decline was observed towards higher elevation and maximum (56%) endemic orchids were recorded from lower (100-1000 m asl) elevations, however only 5% species were recorded above 3500m asl. Total 20 species have been listed under IUCN threat categories viz., Critically Endangered (16), and Endangered (4). Overall, the population trend of threatened orchids is decreasing and recorded stable for only one species. Shifting agriculture, unscientific collection, cutting of host trees and road construction/widening are among the major threats recorded for Himalayan orchids. The study recommends in-situ and ex-situ conservation of these species along with intensive field explorations to identify more habitats/populations of endemic orchids across IHR.