Water Resources Management and Sustainability

Water is the elixir of life and is crucial for sustainable development. Earlier, it was considered to be a limitless or at least a fully renewable natural resource. During the past 20 years, however, there has been tremendous pressure on this precious natural resource mainly due to rapid urbanization, industrialization and the increase in the human population. Together, these have resulted in increasing demand for irrigation, industrial, and household purposes to meet supply-chain requirements. Keeping in mind the scarcity of available water resources in the near future and its impending threats, it has become imperative on the part of scientists in hydrology and allied disciplines such as geography, landscape planning, sustainability science etc. Regional planners and supply chain management experts also must be involved in studying the spatial and temporal nature of the growing demand for water and the future availability for its judicial use and sustainable management.  

A primary intent of the book is to provide comprehensive scientific knowledge base on water resource management and sustainability. It covers geo-engineering and scientific problems, case studies, and sustainable solutions in the water resources management domain. Additionally and of equal importance, the chapters of the book provide in-depth coverage on water resource vulnerability, water quality, wastewater treatment, application of remote sensing and geographical information systems hydrological modeling and harvesting, climate variability and runoff, sediment discharge and irrigation planning, community participation in water governance, internet of things and machine learning applications for sustainable water resources management. 

This practical, state-of-the-art reference book is a valuable resource for students, researchers, scientists, policymakers, spatio-temporal designers of water resource systems, various stake holders interested in hydro-climatology and sustainable water resources management.

Dr. Pankaj Kumar is an Assistant Professor of geography at the Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi. Dr. Kumar completed his M.A. in geography M.Phil. and Ph.D. from the Department of Geography, University of Delhi. Presently Dr. Pankaj Kumar  is Assistant Secretary General, International Geographical Union (IGU) and Secretary IGU Commission of Mountain Studies. Dr. Kumar has developed interests in the fields of montology with focus on cryosphere geography, watershed assessment and modelling, urban dynamics, disaster studies, and remote sensing and GIS. He has presented research papers and chaired sessions in many countries and published several book chapters, and peer-reviewed articles in national and international journals of repute.

Dr. Gaurav Kant Nigam is currently serving as a subject matter specialist in Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Korba, Chhattisgarh, India. He completed his M.Tech. and Ph.D. (soil and water engineering) from Indira Gandhi Agricultural University, Raipur, Chhattisgarh. He received a University Gold Medal in 2014, a Student Incentive Award (Ph.D.) in 2019, the 15th Chhattisgarh Young Scientist Award from the Chhattisgarh Council of Science and Technology bestowed by the governor of Chhattisgarh in 2017, the Late Dr. Manju Singh Memorial Young Scientist Poster Award in the Xth IGU International Thematic Conference at Osmania University, Hyderabad, India, and Best Poster Paper Award in the 1st Asian Conference on Water and Land Management for Food and Livelihood Security in 2017. He also received an award from the Soil Conservation Society of India, New Delhi. He has published many research papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Mr. Manish Kumar Sinha is currently serving as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental and Water Resources Engineering, Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand Technical University Bhilai, India. He is a continuing researcher in the Department of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, RWTH Aachen University, Germany, and was awarded with a prestigious German scholarship DAAD for pursuing his Ph.D. He was awarded with the University Gold Medal in 2014 during his master's program. Mr. Sinha was a recipient of the Young Scientist Award in 2017 for carrying out the best research work in earth system science and atmospheric studies from the Chhattisgarh Council of Science and Technology. He was also awarded with many best paper and academic achievement honours in international and national conferences. He has authored several book chapters and peer-reviewed articles in the areas of water resources management.

Dr. Anju Singh is now serving as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, Aditi Mahavidyalaya, University of Delhi. Dr. Anju specialises in the field of climatology, land use and land cover study, urban geography, water resource management, and coastal ecosystems. She has received international travel grants to present research findings at international forums. Dr. Anju has published 1 book and more than 10 chapters in edited books and in journals of national and international repute. She is currently actively associated with the National Association of Geographers, India (NAGI), and the Association of Geographical Studies (AGS).