Advances in Resource Management of the Indian Desert/edited by B.B.S. Kapoor, Ahmed Ali, S.K. Mathur and Satish Kaushik. Bikaner, Madhu Publications, 2002, 324 p., $55. ISBN 81-86644-04-0.

Contents: Foreword. Preface. I. Mineral resources: 1. Mineral resources of Rajasthan Desert/Shishir Sharma and Suman Sagar. 2. Lignite deposits of Western Rajasthan: present scenario and future prospects/Satish Kaushik, A.R. Inakhya and M.L. Bhadu. 3. Clay deposits of Rajasthan Desert and their industrial prospects/Anand Solanki. 4. Gypsum: a useful mineral of Western Rajasthan/A.K. Jaiswal and B.L. Sharma. 5. Marble deposits of Rajasthan/A.K. Shandilya. 6. Granite: a fascinating stone of Rajasthan/A.K. Shandilya and S.L. Soni. II. Water and soil resources: 7. Ground water resources of Rajasthan/B.S. Paliwal and Arun Vyas. 8. Morphological, physical and chemical characterisation of soils of Indira Gandhi Canal Project Area/S.K. Mathur, K.K. Pareek and Mohd. Anwer. 9. Problem of salinity alkalinity in the Rajasthan Desert/S.N. Johri. 10. Heavy metals toxicity/pollution to soil and water: relevance to dryland agriculture/Gayatri Verma and M. Singh. III. Agricultural resources: 11. Agricultural resources of the Rajasthan Desert an assessment/Ahmed Ali, Sudesh Kumar Swami and Nivedita Pandey. 12. Phytogeographical distribution of medicinal plants of Western Rajasthan/B.B.L. Sharma and Padma Prajapati. 13. Herbaceous medicinal plants of the Western Rajasthan/J.P. Singh, R.K. Beniwal, B.B.S. Kapoor and N.D. Yadava. 14. Isabgol: a new commercial crop for arid regions/Laxman Singh and B. Pal. 15. Agrotechniques for cultivation and multiplication of some important medicinal plants of the Thar Desert/Pawan K. Kasera, Priya Saharan, Jai Prakash and D.D. Chawan. 16. Biology and adaptive strategies of Inland Halophytes/Sher Mohammed, Pawan K. Kasera and David N. Sen. 17. Cultivation of Cucurbits in the hot Indian Desert/P.R. Meghwal. 18. Cultivation practices of some arid zone fruits/Atul Chandra. 19. Under exploited arid fruits and their sustainable production management/D.B. Singh and R.S. Singh. 20. Seed spices of the Rajasthan—present status and future thrust/O.P. Awasthi and N.D. Yadava. 21. Feed and fodder resources for livestock in the arid region of Rajasthan/G.R. Purohit, Vishnu Sharma and Sanjita Sharma. 22. Integrated pest control in the Indira Gandhi Nahar Project Area/P.C. Mathur. 23. Management and potentiality of dairy cattle in the Thar Desert/Champak Bhakat and M.S. Sahani. 24. Small ruminant production: a perspective view/Sanjita Sharma, Vishnu Sharma and G.R. Purohit.

From the preface: "Mankind today is standing at a crossroad of development. As civilization grew the virgin earth had abundant natural resources and with the technological revolution there was rapid industrialization and economic development. It was the time of development without restriction and only economic development was assumed to be the parameters of human prosperity, peace and happiness. Unfortunately, some of the very human development activities which brought economic prosperity to mankind have caused colossal destruction to the global human ecosystem. In reality, the natural resources of the ecosphere are being wastefully consumed at a constantly increasing rate under the combined effect of population pressure on the one hand and the increase in agricultural and industrial production on the other.

"The book aims to provide a general frame work to ensure sustainable development and to improve quality of life of people through proper environmental management. The volume suggests strategies for efficiency and accountability in the rational use of resources in the desert ecosystem. The book lays emphasis on a research perspective to integrated resource management of the Indian desert through three broad sections covering twenty four chapters. Each chapter of this reference text is well-written by the leading experts and scholars having long standing in research in their respective fields."

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