Analysis of Land Use/Land Cover Change and Its Implication On Natural Resources of the Dedo Watershed, Southwest Ethiopia

Abstract

This study analyzed the land use/land cover (LULC) change and their causes and implications on the natural resources of the Dedo Watershed, Ethiopia. The study used 1984, 2000, and 2017 satellite images to detect the trends of land use/land cover change. Moreover, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were used to identify the driving forces linked to the changes and their impact on the natural resources of the watershed. The study identified five LULC types as follows: cultivation, settlement, dense forest, light vegetation, and grassland. Over the last 33 years, cultivation and settlement land expanded by 15.7% and 0.34%, whereas dense forest, light vegetation, and grazing land declined by 9.2%, 4.97%, and 1.85%, respectively. The establishment of the resettlement program and population pressure and associated demands were the major driving forces behind the land use/cover change. Whereas increased soil erosion, biodiversity loss, and decline in water resources are identified as the major impacts of land use land cover changes in the study watershed for the last 33 years. The study concludes that if these trends of cultivation and settlement land expansion allowed continuing, there will be no dense forest vegetation will remain. So, the finding of this study is significant.