Rural land use problems and management options in Debre Tsyon Kebele, Ethiopia

Abstract

Examining the current land use problems is essential for designing management options for sustainable use and to obtain optimal benefit out of land. This study was intended to examine the current land use problems and propose management options and strategies for sustainable land use in Debre Tsyon kebele of Enebsie Sar Midir district, Ethiopia. The Landsat-8 OLI-TIRS of 2017, ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model, interview and field observation was employed to generate data on the current land use, land use problems and management options for the future use. The hybrid pixel-based image classification (supervised and unsupervised) method was used to map the land use classes. The results show that the cropland occupy the vast portion (75%) of the study area. However, the improper land use was very high in agricultural and grazing lands use classes. The growing demand for land resources pushed the community to expand farmlands to fragile steep areas with slope > 30%. Of the total agricultural land, 12.6% found in fragile areas with slope > 30%. Likewise, the grazing land has already deteriorated and could not bring pasture for livestock year-round. The vegetation cover has been declining due to improper use. Hence, this calls for the local government to implement appropriate land use plan and efficient land management options to curb the unsustainability spiral.