This edited volume scrutinizes how economic, socio-cultural, and political-normative systems govern the reach of water among rural women living in extreme poverty. It offers local, regional, and global perspectives on water and agricultural sustainability, and uses innovative methodological approaches focusing on assessing the essential components of water security, food security, gender development, and health management. The book provides a comprehensive overview of key aspects of water and gender development, socio-economics, and food security, including definitional and conceptual issues, information systems and data sources, indicators, and policies. It is intended to be an informative resource for students, researchers, and professionals working in water sustainability, rural resource economics, and agricultural development.
Dr. Rukhsana is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at Aliah University, Kolkata. She done her M.A. and Ph.D. in Geography from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. Her administrative roles at Aliah University include serving as the former Head of the Geography Department and Superintendent of Aliah Girls' Hostel. She was awarded seven academic awards and fellowships including the International Young Geographer Award 2009, the AMU-JRF Award 2006, and UGC-RF 2007-2009 award, etc. Dr. Rukhsana completed three Major Research projects sponsored by ICSSR, the Ministry of Education, and New Delhi. She has supervised six scholars leading to award Ph.D degrees. She has published more than 56 research papers in reputed journals and 32 chapters in edited books. Dr Rukhsana has published 10 edited books and 3 authored in Springer and CRC Taylor Francis etc. Her international experience includes attending the XXV FIG International Congress (2014) in Malaysia and ICGGS (2018) in Bangkok, Thailand. She has also served editorial board member, academic editor and associate editor for various journals and actively engaged in various professional activities and contributed significantly to the university in administrative capacities. She is serving as a Steering Committee Member of the IGU C24.02 Agricultural Geography and Land Engineering, Department of Geography, University of Istanbul, İ.Ü. Edebiyat Fakültesi Coğrafya Bölümü, Ordu Cd. No:196 Laleli - İstanbul, Turkey.
Dr. Asraful Alam is Assistant Professor and Head in the Department of Geography at Serampore Girls' College, University of Calcutta. He completed his M.A. in Geography from Aligarh Muslim University, Ph.D. from Aliah University, and Postdoctoral Research at the University of Calcutta. He also holds a PG Diploma in Remote Sensing and GIS. His teaching and research interests include population and health geography, agricultural geography, climatology, sustainable development, and geospatial science. Dr. Alam has authored, co-authored, and edited 11 books, including volumes with Springer and Taylor & Francis, and published more than 50 research papers in leading journals such as Springer, Elsevier, Wiley, and Nature. He has presented over 60 papers at national and international conferences in India and abroad. He has directed ICSSR-funded projects and contributed to studies on disaster resilience, water management, and rural development. He serves as a Steering Committee Member (2024-2028) of the IGU Commission on Health and the Environment, and as an editorial board member/reviewer for journals including PLOS ONE, GeoJournal (Springer), and BMC Public Health. A life member of the Geographical Society of India and the Regional Science Association, Dr. Alam has also been invited as a resource person and session chair at various academic events.
