Urban expansion and the loss of agricultural lands and forest cover in Limbe, Cameroon

Abstract

Using LULC change detection analysis, it is possible to identify changes due to urbanization, deforestation, or a natural disaster in an area. As the population growth and urbanization intensity increase, real time solutions for the effects of urbanization on land use are required to assess its implications on food security and livelihood. The study seeks to identify and quantify recent LULC changes in Limbe, Cameroon, and to measure rates of conversion between agricultural, forest, and urban lands between 1986 to 2020 using remote sensing and GIS. The classification result reveals that 2020 image has the highest overall accuracy of 94.6 while 2002 image have an overall accuracy of 89.2%. The overall gain for agriculture was approximately 4.6km², urban has an overall gain of nearly 12.7 km² while the overall loss for forest was − 16.9km2 during this period. Much of the land area previously occupied by forest is declining as pressures for urban area and new settlements increased. The study's findings have significant policy implications for sustainable land-use and cover practices. The results offer significant perspectives for researchers and decision makers who are interested in environmentally conscious development and sustainable land use.