This book discusses the important issue of the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of agricultural residue burning, common in agricultural practices in many parts of the world. In particular, it focuses on the pollution caused by rice residue burning using primary survey data from Punjab, India. It discusses emerging solutions to agricultural waste burning that are cost-effective in terms of both money and time. The burning of agricultural residue causes severe pollution in land, water and air and contributes to increased ozone levels and climate change in the long term. However, appropriate assessments have not been undertaken so far to demonstrate the relevant impact of agriculture-based pollution, especially residue burning. This book addresses this gap in the literature. Punjab has been used as a case study as it is the chief granary of India, contributing to 27.2 percent of the Indian national produce of rice and 43.8 percent of wheat. It is presumed that the findings from this state will be useful not only for other agricultural areas in India, but across the world. This book, therefore, sensitizes policy makers, researchers and students about the impacts of air pollution caused by agricultural residue burning---a subject not much dealt in the literature---and provides a way forward.

This book discusses the important issue of the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of agricultural residue burning, common in agricultural practices in many parts of the world. In particular, it focuses on the pollution caused by rice residue burning using primary survey data from Punjab, India. It discusses emerging solutions to agricultural waste burning that are cost-effective in terms of both money and time. The burning of agricultural residue causes severe pollution in land, water and air and contributes to increased ozone levels and climate change in the long term. However, appropriate assessments have not been undertaken so far to demonstrate the relevant impact of agriculture-based pollution, especially residue burning. This book addresses this gap in the literature. Punjab has been used as a case study as it is the chief granary of India, contributing to 27.2 percent of the Indian national produce of rice and 43.8 percent of wheat. It is presumed that the findings from this state will be useful not only for other agricultural areas in India, but across the world. This book, therefore, sensitizes policy makers, researchers and students about the impacts of air pollution caused by agricultural residue burning---a subject not much dealt in the literature---and provides a way forward.

This book comprises selected papers on advances in the field of health and environment safety that were presented at the leading international conference on advances in the field of health, safety, fire, environment, allied sciences and engineering (HSFEA 2016). The book focuses on the latest developments in the field of health and environment safety, and highlights related opportunities and challenges. The book also presents methods that can be used to effectively monitor and measure climate change and global warming. Further, the contents of this work stress the importance of maintaining safety and healthy work environments that are free of occupational health hazards. This book will be of interest to researchers, professionals, and policy makers alike.

"The assessment builds on the work of the Livestock, Environment and Development (LEAD) Initiative"--Pref.

CLIMATE IMPACTS ON SUSTAINABLE NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Climate change has emerged as one of the predominant global concerns of the 21st century. Statistics show that the average surface temperature of the Earth has increased by about 1.18°C since the late 19th century and the sea levels are rising due to the melting of glaciers. Further rise in the global temperature will have dire consequences for the survival of humans on the planet Earth. There is a need to monitor climatic data and associated drivers of changes to develop sustainable planning. The anthropogenic activities that are linked to climate change need scientific evaluation and must be curtailed before it is too late. This book contributes significantly in the field of sustainable natural resource management linked to climate change. Up to date research findings from developing and developed countries like India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and the USA have been presented through selected case studies covering different thematic areas. The book has been organised into six major themes of sustainable natural resource management, determinants of forest productivity, agriculture and climate change, water resource management and riverine health, climate change threat on natural resources, and linkages between natural resources and biotic-abiotic stressors to develop the concept and to present the findings in a way that is useful for a wide range of readers. While the range of applications and innovative techniques is constantly increasing, this book provides a summary of findings to provide the updated information. This book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners in the field of environmental sciences, remote sensing, geographical information system, meteorology, sociology and policy studies related to natural resource management and climate change.

This open access book on straw management aims to provide a wide array of options for rice straw management that are potentially more sustainable, environmental, and profitable compared to current practice. The book is authored by expert researchers, engineers and innovators working on a range of straw management options with case studies from Vietnam, the Philippines and Cambodia. The book is written for engineers and researchers in order to provide them information on current good practice and the gaps and constraints that require further research and innovation. The book is also aimed at extension workers and farmers to help them decide on the best alternative straw management options in their area by presenting both the technological options as well as the value chains and business models required to make them work. The book will also be useful for policy makers, required by public opinion to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, looking for research-based evidence to guide the policies they develop and implement.