Assessment of the Land Use and Land Cover Changes and the Impacts on the Environment. Case Study: Laikipia County

Abstract

Laikipia County is rich in biodiversity attracting local and international tourists due to vast wildlife resources. However, the growth in the human Population prompted individuals to encroach on the protected wildlife area and forests, affecting the environment. Laikipia is widely known to harbour many pastoralist communities, and the poor market prices have led to individuals overstocking, pressuring the diminishing natural resources. The need for more agricultural land prompted the farmers to encroach on wildlife habits, which is mainly the grasslands and forest areas. The main objective of the study was to assess the land use and land cover changes in Laikipia County and the impact on the environment. The Study used Landsat satellite images from 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020 from USGS earth explore. Ancillary data was used, such as google earth images, to help verify the land cover change over the last decades. The Study used Arc GIS and QGIS software tools to conduct a supervised and unsupervised classification of the satellite images.