Natural Resources development Methodologies

Any pathway for economic progress has to be both knowledge-driven, and job-led. Waters, soils and minerals constitute the most significant natural resources. Their use did provide immense benefits to the community, but there is a flip side to the picture in the form of severe environmental degradation, with adverse consequences on health and quality of life. The book draws attention to ways and means of using science and technology innovatively to optimize the benefits of resource use, while avoiding or at least minimizing, the adverse impact through practices such as the beneficial use of wastes. Also, the volume could serve as instructional material to give end-use orientation. The book not only gives an account of the problems in the management of natural resources, but also draws attention to the new technologies that are available to remedy the situation. It will be useful to university students and professionals in the area of natural resources management, earth and environmental sciences and technologies, agriculture, ecology, civil engineering, geography, sociology, etc. ContentsUnit – I Sustainability in Resource Management1. Sustainability in Resource Industries : Implications for Management, Technology and EducationUnit – II Water Resources2. Management of Groundwater Resources 3. Geomorphology of River Basins and Freshwater Aquifers. 4. Geophysics in the Study of Coastal Salinization 5. Multi-thematic Remote Sensing in Water Resources Management6. GIS and Remote Sensing in Watershed Management 7. Water Resources Systems Engineering 8. Watershed Management for Drought Mitigation9. Socio-Economic Impact of Drought 10. Aberrated Climate Systems and their Impact on Water Resources 11. Impact of Land-use and Land-cover on Water Quality12. Geomatics for Watershed Management13. Paradigms of Water Resources DevelopmentUnit – III Soil Resources14. In situ Conservation of Rainwater on Alfisols in a Semiarid Region Unit – IV Mineral Resources15. Mineral Resources Management Methodologies About the Author U. Aswathanarayana has research and teaching experience of half-a-century in the countries of the South (India, Tanzania, and Mozambique) and of the North (USA, U.K., and Canada). He received his B.Sc. (Hons.), M.Sc., and D.Sc. degrees from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, India. He specialized in Nuclear Geology, Geochemistry, Economic Geology and Natural Resources Management. He is the author of over 100 original scientific papers. His first book entitled, “Principles of Nuclear Geology” (A.A. Balkema, The Netherlands, 1986), was followed by a quartet of books on the ecologically-sustainable and employment-generating utilization of natural resources : “Geoenvironment: An Introduction” (A.A. Balkema, The Netherlands, 1995), “Soil Resources and the Environment” (Science Publishers, Enfield, USA ; 1999), “Water Resources Management and the Environment” (A.A. Balkema, 2001), “Mineral Resources Management and the Environment” (A.A. Balkema, 2003). While in Africa during 1980-2001, he served as a Consultant to UNIDO,(Vienna), Commonwealth Secretariat (London), SIDA (Stockholm), World Bank (Washington, D.C.), Louis Berger International Inc. (New Jersey, USA) and the Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Affairs (Mozambique), He is the Chairman of the Working Group on “Geochemical Training in the Developing countries” of the International Association of Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry (IAGC). He is presently engaged in developing the Mahadevan International Centre for Water Resources Management, Hyderabad, which is a part of the UNESCO TWAS Third World Network of Scientific Organizations.