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Preface

Climate change is one of the major global concerns in today's world. Assessment of the relationship between natural resources and climatic drivers along with the assessment of probable impacts of climate change on natural resources is essentially required to develop mitigation and adaptation strategies. Statistics show that the average surface temperature of planet Earth has increased by about 1.18 °C since the late nineteenth century. Apart from this, the sea level has also increased by about 8 inches since the last century. Any further increase in the global temperature and sea‐level rise would have a significant negative impact on the majority of natural resources and human well‐being. Global climate change that is mostly driven by human‐induced activities needs to be understood clearly so that strategies can be planned for an early action before it is too late. Thus it is quite evident that we need to be serious when dealing with the consequences of climate change. Updated and timely information on the changing flux of solar radiation, atmospheric warming, patterns and variations in precipitation, trends of increasing CO₂ concentration, etc. are essential to keep track of changing climate. The pathways that are linked to climate change such as different socio‐economic activities, burning of fossil fuels, land‐use change, forest cover change dynamics, health estimates of agriculture and forested lands, the productivity of agriculture and forestry systems, etc. provide essential insight to develop a sustainable plan for the management of natural resources.

The IPCC announced that the increase in the recorded Earth's temperature during the last 50 years is the result of various human activities. Climate change has become an important driving force in regulating mechanisms of the physical and biological world. It is now well established that climate change influences a vast number of sectors and resources, either directly or indirectly. The governments of the world have responded to the threats associated with climate change to formulate actions for mitigation. For a better understanding, long‐term observation is desirable to continuously monitor precipitation, temperature, daily radiation, etc. along with the monitoring of the spatial extent and health of natural resources to conclusively establish site‐specific impact assessment. Throughout the world, several attempts have been made to minimize the impact of climate change or to initiate necessary steps to retard the speed of climate change. Natural resources not only contribute to the overall growth of the economy of a nation but also reduces poverty when adequate management and sustainability are ensured. Natural resource management has emerged as one of the most inclusive growth sectors for supporting the economy of Asian countries. Besides, the forward and backward linkages of natural resources to climate change require a comprehensive understanding of a sustainable world. Global weather and climate studies are increasingly being considered as a vital source of information to understand the Earth's environment, especially human‐induced climate studies and factors affecting natural resources.

This book covers significant and updated contributions in the field of sustainable natural resources management linked to climate change. The updated knowledge from countries like India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and the USA is presented in this book through selected case studies for major thematic areas that have basic preliminary concepts and elaborates the scientific understanding of the relationship between natural resources and climatic drivers, influence of climate change on agriculture, forest, water resources, etc. The book has been separated into six major themes, each having subject‐specific chapters to develop the concept and to present the findings in a lucid 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 key case studies to provide the most updated information. Chapters incorporate multi‐source data and information that offer critical understanding to explain the causes and effects of environmental changes linked to natural resource management. This book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners in the field of environmental sciences, remote sensing, geographical information, meteorology, sociology and policy studies, etc. related to natural resource management and climate change. Also, scientists and graduate and post‐graduate level students of various disciplines will find valuable information in this book. We believe that the book would be read by people with a common interest in sustainable development and other diverse backgrounds within earth observation.

The scientific quality of the book was ensured by a rigorous review process where leading researchers from Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and the USA participated to provide constructive comments to improve the chapters. Due to the confidentiality of the review process, we are unable to provide their names; however, we are deeply indebted and thankful for their voluntary support. On behalf of the team of authors, we express our gratitude to the entire crew of Wiley for all kind of assistance to make this a successful endeavor.

Pavan Kumar

Ram Kumar Singh

Manoj Kumar

Meenu Rani

Pardeep Sharma