Detecting land use and land cover change on Barbuda before and after the Hurricane Irma with respect to potential land grabbing: A combined volunteered geographic information and multi sensor approach

Abstract

Two months after the hurricanes Irma and Maria hit Barbuda, the construction of a new international airport led to accusations of degrading the Codrington Lagoon National Park and contravening the conventions of the Ramsar Program. Scientists have analyzed the aftermath with respect to historical legacies, disaster capitalism, manifestation of climate injustices and green gentrification. The main objective of this study was to quantify and allocate land use and land cover change (LULCC) in Barbuda before and after the 2017 Hurricane disasters. Remote sensing data and volunteered geographic information were analyzed to detect the potential changes in natural LULC so that human activities and the emergence of artificial surfaces could be detected. Human-induced LULCC occurred at different sites on the island, with decreased activities in Codrington, but increased and continued activities at Coco and Palmetto Points. With an accuracy of 97.1 %, we estimated a total increase of vegetated areas by 6.56 km2, and a simultaneous slight increase in roads and buildings with a total length of 249.67 km and a total area of 1.43 km2. The vegetation condition itself depict a steady decrease since 2017. New hotspots of human activity emerged on the island in the Codrington Lagoon National Park.