Degradation Of Kilombero Valley Ramsar Wetlands In Tanzania

In this study, the land cover changes in the Kilombero Valley were analyzed over a span of 30 years. Fourteen Landsat (ETM and TM) images, covering the years 1975, 1990, 2002, 2009 and 2010, were used to generate land use maps for the study area and were analyzed for quantitative changes. Post-classification change detection analysis revealed that there has been an extensive exploitation of natural land cover across the valley through agricultural activities. In 1975, the valley floor was dominated by woodland (42%) and seasonal wetlands (37%). However, this has changed over the years and in 2008, 36% of the valley area was under intensive cultivation and 29% was occupied by a mixture of settlement, grazing, and cultivated areas. Findings show that there is a rapid transformation of the valley towards agricultural-intensive valley from the wetland area. At least 90% of wetland area originally present on the valley has been converted to other land uses and about 84% of the woodlands that existed in 1975 have been replaced by other land covers. This calls for closer attention to the ongoing degradation of the Kilombero wetlands.
Source: Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts ABC - Category: Science Source Type: research