Impact of Hydrological Infrastructure Projects on Land Use/Cover and Socioeconomic Development in Arid Regions—Evidence from the Upper Atbara and Setit Dam Complex, Kassala, Eastern Sudan

Abstract

In recent years, Africa has seen much construction of large-scale hydrological infrastructures in the arid and semi-arid regions of numerous countries. This paper aims to quantify the effects of this form of hydrological infrastructure, especially the Upper Atbara and Setit Dam Complex (UASDC) in Eastern Sudan, on the land use/cover (LUC) and socioeconomic domains. This paper attempts to advance our understanding of this phenomenon by using multiple approaches. A framework using the integration of 3S technologies and a logical approach for quantifying the significance of the results to society has been developed. The method used Landsat5 TM in 2002, Sentinel2A in 2018, and statistical data to create the LUC map. The final map included seven classes; the overall accuracy of changes in LUC patterns was 94.9% in 2002 and 93% in the results reveal that significant changes occurred in terms of LUC, having a considerable effect on socio-economic development. The results were analyzed with the logical approach for overall objectives, where 85% represents S1, 3.3% represents S2, and 11.7% represents S3, respectively. This study provides an insight into further investigations of the dam’s effect on climate and groundwater, and offers a new perspective on land use prediction, simulation, and environmental sustainability.