Simulating Climate Change and Livelihood Security : A Western Himalayan Experience, India

This book identifies and provides reasoning for computed methods of local climate dynamics and the livelihood vulnerability indices assessment in the mountainous region of Himachal Pradesh, India. The outcomes of this study agree with the focused objectives on simulating climate change and its impact on livelihood security. It deals with several crucial methodologies to analyze livelihood security with and without climate change. The explorative deductive approach was used to observe climatic changes since the 1970s and simulated the climate until 2080. Additionally, the composite livelihood vulnerability index (LVI) without climate change and the climate change livelihood vulnerability index (CCLVI) with climate change impact were prepared. The book is beneficial for policymakers who are involved in framing and implementing policies chiefly in the Himalaya. It is also valuable for all stakeholders in society: students, researchers and academicians. It proposes discussions and debate on a new, integrated, inclusive and open approach to climate change and validates the significance of geographic knowledge in addressing climate change issues at various levels, suggesting policy measures to cope with them.

Dr. Swarnima Singh received her Doctor of Philosophy (2016) and MPhil (2008) degrees from the University of Delhi, Delhi, India. She is an assistant professor at the Department of Geography, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. She has teaching and research experience of more than 8 years and has devoted her career to the development of geographical and ecological studies. She has also served at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-India) secretariat in New Delhi, and the University of Delhi. Her research interests include geographic information systems, climate change vulnerability modeling, developing decision support systems together with global circulation and regional circulation modeling (GCM and RCM) for developing mitigation and adaptation synergy, among other areas. She has published more than 10 national and 6 international papers in reputed journals and books. Furthermore, she is supervising several Ph.D. theses. She has organized conferences and is a member of many international professional bodies.

Dr. R.B. Singh was a professor of geography from 1996 and a head of the Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, until February 2, 2020. He is the first Indian and second Asian elected secretary general and treasurer of the International Geographical Union (IGU) (2018–2022). Earlier, he was the vice president of IGU during 2012–2018. At present, he is chair of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) – Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Government of India, and a member of the International Science Council. Professor Singh has been awarded a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fellowship and has given lectures and presentations in more than 50 countries. He has published 15 books, 36 edited research volumes, and more than 240 research papers. He has supervised 36 Ph.D. and 81 M.Phil. students. In 1988 the UNESCO/International Social Science Council awarded him research and study grants in social and human sciences.