Dynamics of Land use/land cover in Kahuwa River Micro-catchment in Response to Urbanization from 1986 to 2010

This study determined the change in land use/ cover in Kahuwa micro-catchment from 1986 to 2010. Landsat images covering three periods 1986, 2000 and 2010 were analyzed using unsupervised classification in ILWIS 3.3 software. Past land-use/cover was reconstructed using key informant interviews as well as existing land-use/cover maps of the area (such as the GLC2000 and the Africover maps). The result showed five major land use/cover types including forest, grassland, built-up areas, open water and small-scale farmlands. Between 1986 and 2000, the forest area decreased by 7.14 % at the rate of 135.39 ha for the considered period and between 2000 and 2010, the forest decrease was also about 141.04 ha. The increase in the built-up area has lead to a number of environmental and ecological problems. Proper land use planning is essential for sustainable development of Kahuwa river micro-catchment