The societal value of ecology and taxonomy depends on translating reliable biodiversity knowledge into validated applications that address environmental and human needs. However, scientific discovery alone does not guarantee ecological improvement, economic viability, or equitable benefits. This structured critical review maps 100 purposively selected journal article records published between 2020 and 2025 across biodiversity-related ecosystem services, pollination and sustainable agriculture, One Health, environmental monitoring, restoration, and the translation of research into practice. It examines potential application pathways alongside requirements for validation, user demand, financing, regulation, institutional capacity, and benefit sharing. International examples provide comparative contexts rather than rankings of national performance. With particular reference to India, the review identifies priorities concerning taxonomic reference resources, ecological baselines, long-term monitoring, local implementation capacity, and the distinction between potential market opportunities and demonstrated societal impact. Soil invertebrates provide a cross-cutting example of how taxonomic and ecological knowledge can inform environmental assessment and sustainable land management. A conceptual knowledge-to-impact framework is proposed to connect reliable identification and ecological evidence with validated applications, stakeholder adoption, and measurable outcomes. Given the metadata-based scope, these pathways require further full-text assessment and empirical validation before their effectiveness or wider societal benefits can be established.