Land-use/land-cover changes and implications in Southern Ethiopia: evidence from remote sensing and informants

Understanding land use/cover (LULC) changes and their impacts on the catchment are imperative for proper land management. Hence, useful information concerning responses to LULC changes becomes important to minimize negative impacts on future land uses. The aim of the study was to evaluate the LULC changes and consequences of the change at Bilate catchment from 1986 to 2018. The LULC change evaluations were undertaken by using Landsat images of 1986, 2002 and 2018. Supervised image classification was employed to map the land cover classes. Informant interviews and group discussions with field observations were used to identify the consequences of the changes. Over the past periods, built-up areas, water bodies, cultivation, and barren lands have increased by 0.97, 0.13, 9.27, and 1.36%, respectively. However, the forest and grazing lands have decreased by 8.56 and 3.18% respectively. Exhaustive land cultivation without appropriate management and cultivation of sloppy lands have increased soil erosion and sediment yield to water bodies. A decline in crop yields, livestock products and numbers, and fish population in Lake Abaya are the major implications of LULC change in the catchment. Therefore, to ensure sustainable land use, responsible bodies commit and work closely with communities through participatory approaches.