Impact of Land Use and Land Cover Changes on Rural Livelihoods The Case of Majang zone, Gambella Region, Ethiopia

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the impact of land use-land cover changes on the livelihoods of the rural communities in the Majang zone, Ethiopia. The study has examined land use-land cover (LULC) changes for four consecutive study periods using Landsat imageries and GIS applications. The result of LULC changes shows that between the years 1985 and 2018, forest lands, shrub/grasslands, and water bodies declined by 49.7%, 80%, and 42.3%, while agricultural lands and settlement areas increased by 100.6%, and 413%, respectively. By employing a sustainable rural livelihood approach, the study also assessed the livelihood status of the farmer households. Thus, livelihoods were assessed through the selected livelihood indicators of each livelihood asset derived from the data gathered through household surveys, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and field observations. The livelihood asset index result indicated a significant difference at P<0.05 within the groups in all livelihood asset indexes except human assets. Moreover, the finding confirmed that the highest livelihood index was obtained for the physical (0.71) and financial assets (0.50). Furthermore, finical and natural assets were identified as the main determinant factors in the livelihood of rural farm households. So, our findings suggest that a judicious combination of interventions will be helpful if they are accompanied by government policies that enhance rural livelihood assets. Although the livelihood asset index has been in progress, the provision of access to human and social infrastructure as well as microfinance institutions should also be emphasized to improve the livelihoods of rural communities.