Geospatial Modeling for Environmental Management: Case Studies from South Asia

This is a comprehensive resource that integrates the application of innovative remote sensing techniques and geospatial tools in modeling Earth systems for environmental management beyond customary digitization and mapping practices. It identifies the most suitable approaches for a specific environmental problem, emphasizes the importance of physically based modeling, their uncertainty analysis, advantages, and disadvantages. The case studies on the Himalayas with a complex topography call for innovation in geospatial techniques to find solutions for various environmental problems.

Features:

• Presents innovative geospatial methods in environmental modeling of Earth systems.
• Includes case studies from South Asia and discusses different processes and outcomes using spatially explicit models.
• Explains contemporary environmental problems through the analysis of various information layers.
• Provides good practices for developing countries to help manage environmental issues using low-cost geospatial approaches.
• Integrates geospatial modeling with policy and analysis its direct implication in decision making.

Using a systems’ approach analysis, Geospatial Modeling for Environmental Management: Case Studies from South Asia shall serve environmental managers, students, researchers, and policymakers.

Shruti Kanga is an associate professor and coordinator at the Center for Climate Change and Water Resources, Suresh Gyan Vihar University, Jaipur, India. Previously she was an assistant professor at Central University of Jharkhand (CUJ), Ranchi and also served as Research Associate in Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF). She received her PhD in 2013 from the Department of Remote Sensing, Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi. She has worked in the areas of forest fires risk modeling and management, tourism, resource management etc.

Suraj Kumar Singh is an associate professor and coordinator at the Center for Sustainable Development, Suresh Gyan Vihar University, Jaipur. Previously he worked as an assistant professor at the Central University of Jharkhand (CUJ), Ranchi. He has also served as Research Associate in National Remote Sensing Center (NRSC), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). He earned his Ph.D. degree in 2012 from the Department of Remote Sensing, Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi. He has experience in the area of water logging and flood hazards, geospatial applications in water resources, disaster management, hydrogeomorphology, urban planning and wasteland mapping.

Gowhar Meraj is a Young Scientist Fellow, in the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India’s Scheme for Young Scientist and Technologists (SYST) at Department of Ecology, Environment, and Remote Sensing, Government of Jammu and Kashmir. Previously he worked at the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and as a consultant with World Bank Group, New Delhi for its South Asia Water Initiative Program. He has done his M Phil. and M Sc. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Kashmir, India. He has more than nine years of experience in research and teaching in various themes related to satellite remote sensing and GIS. He has published over 40 articles in various international and national journals.

Majid Farooq is a scientist at the Department of Ecology, Environment, and Remote Sensing, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, India. He has more than 15 years of experience in research, teaching and consultancy related to remote sensing and GIS such as climate change vulnerability assessments, flood modeling, ecosystem assessment, watershed management, natural resource management, ecosystem services, and modeling. He has over 25 publications in various international and national journals.