Sustainability of Natural Resources : Planning, Development, and Management

Agriculture is the backbone of the economy in most countries and its output can be impacted by climate change effects. India, as well as other countries which are predominantly agricultural are facing various challenges due to increasing population which can be met by technological innovations for sustainable agriculture. Advanced and innovative technologies in agriculture will not only solve the problems of fulfilling the food requirement of the growing population but also sustain agriculture in the future. Sustainability of Natural Resources Planning and Management addresses the advancement of innovative techniques to address the issues of water scarcity and agricultural yield. It discusses various aspects of natural resource management, agriculture micro irrigation, AI applications for water management and impacts of climate change on water resources. This book also deals water resource exploration, planning, recent geographic information system-based studies, groundwater modelling, and related applications. It highlights the optimal strategies for sustainable water resource management and development. It also examines precision farming using remote sensing and GIS techniques.

Rohitashw Kumar (B.E., M.E., Ph. D.) is Associate Dean and Professor in the College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Srinagar, India. He worked as Professor Water Chair (Sheikkul Alam ShiekhNuruddin Water Chair), Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, at the National Institute of Technology, Srinagar (J&K) for 3 years. He is also Professor and Head, Division of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Water Resources Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur, and Master of Engineering Degree in Irrigation Water Management Engineering from Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur. He received a gold medal in 2022, a leadership award in 2020, a Special Research award in 2017, and a Student Incentive Award in 2015 (Ph.D. Research) from the Soil Conservation Society of India, New Delhi. He also got the first prize for the best M. Tech thesis in Agricultural Engineering in 2001 in India. He has published over 130 papers in peer-reviewed journals, more than 25 popular articles, 8 books, 4 practical manuals, and 30 book chapters. He has guided two Ph.D students and 16 M.Tech students in soil and water engineering. He has handled more than 12 research projects as a principal or co-principal investigator. Since 2011, he has been the Principal Investigator of ICAR, All India Coordinated Research Project on Plastic Engineering in Agriculture Structural and Environment Management.

Kanak N. Moharir is working as Assistant Professor at Banasthali University, Jaipur, India. She has more than 5 years of teaching and research experience and has published more than 40 research papers in national and international journals and has presented 15 papers in national and international conferences with more than 870 citations. She is working in remote sensing, watershed management, hydrology, land use and land cover, aquifer mapping, groundwater modeling, hydrogeology, geomorphology, and geology.

Vijay P. Singh is a Distinguished Professor, a Regents Professor, and the inaugural holder of the Caroline and William N. Lehrer Distinguished Chair in Water Engineering at Texas A&M University. His research interests include surface water hydrology, groundwater hydrology, hydraulics, irrigation engineering, environmental quality, water resources, water-food-energy nexus, climate change impacts, entropy theory, copula theory, and mathematical modeling. He graduated with a B.Sc. in Engineering and Technology with emphasis on Soil and Water Conservation Engineering in 1967 from U.P. Agricultural University, India. He earned an MS in Engineering with specialization in Hydrology in 1970 from the University of Guelph, Canada; a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering with specialization in Hydrology and Water Resources in 1974 from Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA; and a D.Sc. in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering in 1998 from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. He has published extensively on a wide range of topics. His publications include more than 1,365 journal articles, 32 books, 80 edited books, 305 book chapters, and 315 conference proceedings papers. For his seminar contributions, he has received more than 100 national and international awards, including three honorary doctorates. Currently, he serves as Past President of the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and previously, he served as President of the American Institute of Hydrology and Cahir, Watershed Council, ASCE. He is Editor-in-Chief of two book series and three journals and serves on the editorial boards of more than 25 journals. He has served as Editor-in-Chief of three other journals. He is a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, an Honorary Member of the American Water Resources Association, an Honorary Member of International Water Resource Association, and a Distinguished Fellow of the Association of Global Groundwater Scientists. He is a fellow of five professional societies. He is also a fellow or member of 11 national or international engineering or science academies.

Chaitanya B. Pande has completed his Ph.D. in Environment Science from Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University. He has completed M.Sc. in Geoinformatics from Amravati University in 2011. He has more than 11 years of teaching, research, and industrial experience. He is a reviewer for several scientific journals of the international repute and an editorial board member in the American Journal of Agricultural and Biological Sciences. He has published 57 research papers, 1 textbook, 3 edited books entitled “Groundwater Resources Development and Planning in the Semi‑rid Region,” 19 conference papers, and 18 book chapters with more than 1,349 citations. His research interests include remote sensing, GIS, Google Earth Engine, machine learning, watershed management, hydrogeology, hydrological modeling, drought monitoring, land use and land cover analysis, groundwater quality, urban planning, hydro-eochemistry, groundwater modeling, geology, hyperspectral remote sensing, remote sensing and GIS application in natural resources management, watershed management, and environmental monitoring and assessment subjects.

Abhay M. Varade is working as an Associate Professor at the Post Graduate Department of Geology, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur. He has completed his M.Sc. in Geology from Amravati University, Amravati, and M.Tech. in Petroleum Exploration from the renowned Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad. Before joining the post of Lecturer in the Department of Geology, RTM Nagpur University Nagpur, he obtained experience at the Central Mining Research Institute (CSIR Lab., Dhanbad) and SGS India Pvt. Limited, Mumbai. Presently, he is associated with different Earth science-related societies. Till date, he has published 77 research papers in the journals/books of international (25 international) and national (52 national) repute and also edited (Editor) three Special Volumes of Gondwana Geological Society (Journal of Geosciences Research). His publications mainly cover the topics like sedimentology, coal bed methane technology, coal petrology, Quaternary geology and vertebrate palaentology, hydrochemistry, applications of RS/GIS and geophysical/geostatistical techniques in groundwater and agricultural based studies, pumping test analysis for aquifer characterization, watershed characterization, and prioritization and management. He is a reviewer for high-impact factor journals along with several other Indian referred journals and has worked as a Co-chairman/Rapporteur in many scientific/technical sessions. As an Organizing Secretary, he has organized five national/state-level seminars/conferences. Presently, he is working on an International Book Proposal related to Climate Change Impact – Uzbekistan. His noteworthy contribution includes Advisory Committee Membership of UGC‑SAP Programme for the Department of Geology, RTM NU (2016–2021); Core Member of RTM NU Nagpur for NAAC (2020 NAAC); Member of the Task Force Committee-board of Studies in Geology (2016–2018); Ex‑Executive Member of the Alumni Association of the Department of Geology, RTM NU (2016–2018); Ex‑Executive Member (Joint Secretary) of the Gondwana Geological Society, Nagpur; Deputy Chief Officer for the Examination of RTM NU (2012–2013); and Training and Placement In‑harge (2004–2009; 2016–2017; 2017–2021).