Land Settlement Research Articles

Prioritas Pengembangan Permukiman Berdasarkan Analisis Kesesuaian Lahan Di Kota Ambon

The development of sustainable settlements requires land suitability analysis. This study aims to analyze land use based on satellite imagery, land suitability classes and criteria for settlements, as well as limiting factors and development priorities. The methods used include qualitative descriptive analysis for spatial analysis and quantitative descriptive analysis to explain the ranking based on land units. The study utilizes Landsat 8 data, administrative maps, soil types, and rock data. Tools used include a compass, camera, and GPS. Data collection is obtained through surveys, satellite imagery, and relevant documents. Data processing tools include ArcGIS 9.3, Er Mapper 7.0, and Global Mapper 15.0 software. Data is collected through field measurements and analyzed based on ranking and overlay techniques. The study results show that land use classification, including geometric and radiometric correction and maximum likelihood classification, demonstrates good accuracy. The classes and criteria for suitable settlement land are predominantly categorized as highly unsuitable, covering an area of 23,592.48 hectares, while the highly suitable category covers an area of 6,033.39 hectares. Settlement development priorities are categorized as Priority I covering an area of 3,181.34 hectares; Priority II, covering an area of 2,852.05 hectares; and Priority III, covering an area of 8,237.89 hectares. The study reveals the existence of settlement development in problematic areas, covering an area of 204.19 hectares. This phenomenon can be explained by the geographical conditions of Kota Ambon, which is primarily hilly, making it the preferred choice for residents in fulfilling their housing needs. Therefore, local governments need to strictly enforce regional regulations to preserve land and prevent potential impacts.

Analisis Efektivitas Daya Tampung Embung Taman Firdaus Universitas Sriwijaya

Floods occur due to reduced water catchment areas due to increased land use, both for settlements and economic activities. The purpose of this research is to analyze the storage capacity of the embankment. The Firdaus Taman Firdaus Reservoir of Sriwijaya University (UNSRI) is located in the Ogan Ilir district and is useful as a place for rainwater storage and flood control. Embung has many benefits to meet the water needs of UNSRI. The UNSRI reservoir has an area of ​​24 hectares, the west reservoir is 8 m from the bottom and 50 m long. Results of data analysis, the volume of the reservoir with a depth of 5 m with an area of ​​pond 1 covering an area of ​​423804.79 m2 can accommodate water with a storage volume capacity of 2119023.95 m3. The results of testing the average water content in the original soil (w) = 87.38 %. The test results for the average soil specific gravity (Gs) are 2.19. The results of the Atterberg limit test, the liquid limit value in soil (LL) = 57.00 %, the plastic limit in soil (PL) = 48.37 %, and the plasticity index in soil (IP) = 8.63 %. Based on the AASTHO classification, the soil in the UNSRI Firdaus Taman Embung belongs to group A-2-5, as silt or loamy gravel and sand. Meanwhile, based on the USCS classification, it is classified as Silts and Clays (CH). The results of the permeability test are the permeability value (K) = 3.034191 x 10-5 cm/s, which is low permeability.

Penyelesaian Sengketa Transaksi Tanah Adat

This study discusses the legitimacy of customary land transactions, land ownership by conducting land transactions, the emergence of disputes from customary land transactions, and the process of resolving disputes over customary land transactions through litigation and non-litigation channels. Purposes of the Research: To find out the legitimacy of customary land transactions and find out about the dispute resolution process of customary land transactions. This study uses the Normative Law research method which is carried out by examining legal materials related to the problems being studied, using statutory and conceptual approaches, and using primary and secondary data and analyzed descriptively. Results of the Research: Basically transactions are made individually, the transaction still may not conflict with normative provisions that exist in society (requirements for the validity of the agreement/transaction; legal reasons). Because it cannot be separated from society, transactions in customary law can only be said to be valid if individual interests are balanced with the interests of society. In the process of resolving customary land transaction disputes, litigation and non-litigation can be carried out. Settlement of disputes over customary land through litigation as a settlement of disputes between parties which is carried out through examinations before judges in court institutions, in the development of the times the community's need for justice and prosperity is getting bigger. So the settlement of disputes through litigation or courts is gradually felt to be less effective, the settlement of land disputes through litigation is felt to take too long and costs quite a lot. This situation causes justice seekers to look for other alternatives, namely by resolving disputes outside the formal court process, an alternative known as dispute resolution through non-litigation channels.

Nature and the extended city: Wasteland governmentality, the sacred, and anti-wasteland politics in the Aravalli region

Wasteland governmentality has long shaped colonial and postcolonial landscape governance across the planet. While historically wasteland classification was deployed for agrarian land settlement and silviculture, with extended urbanisation it is increasingly used to consolidate landscapes of extended urban nature. These landscapes are in turn subjected to state-led land enclosures for urban and infrastructure development and for greenwashing. This paper investigates the political construction of one such landscape of extended urban nature, the Aravalli region, a geological feature which runs parallel to the extended corridor urbanisation in the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR). Particularly, I examine how in the name of regulating mining, urban development, and pollution in the Delhi NCR, the revenue wastes including sacred groves, hills, and other village commons falling in the Aravallis have been consolidated as a state space. I examine how the patchwork of communities assembled in the extended urban fabric of the region deploys the sacred to counter land enclosure and the emptying out of meaning. I discuss three such modalities of the sacred in the region, namely, its use by agrarian villages to assert land rights over sacred forests, the misuse of the sacred by temple committees to produce faux nature, and its use by emergent urban environmental movements in the region to frame an anti-wasteland politics. Focusing my attention on the state, I discuss the need for a nuanced understanding of emergent urban environmentalism in the region as restorative commoning beyond the binary framings of bourgeois versus the poor.

AUTOMATION OF NORMATIVE MONEY VALUE OF LANDS OF SETTLEMENTS WITH THE USE OF GEOINFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

In this paper, the constituent elements of geoinformation support for the normative monetary valuation of the lands of settlements has been considered. A set of geospatial data necessary for land value of settlements at each of its stages has been formed. A method of economic and planning zoning based on the theory of fuzzy sets is proposed, namely the method of arranging objects according to a set of features, which allows applying real values of evaluation indicators and calculating their integral values. The algorithm of automated zoning with the use of GIS tools has been considered. Based on the proposed set of geospatial data, an ArcGIS tool was created using the Model Builder application, which allows you to determine the normative money value of a separate land plot and generate a report.

MODEL PERUBAHAN TUTUPAN LAHAN BERBASIS CA-MARKOV: STUDI KASUS KECAMATAN TERNATE UTARA, KOTA TERNATE

North Ternate Sub-district is located in the center of Ternate City, making it a sub-district that has an increasing population every year. The increase in population certainly affects the increase in built-up land, which certainly affects environmental damage, climate change and other socio-economic problems. This study aims to predict land cover change in North Ternate Sub-district in 2003, 2013, 2023 and 2032 based on CA-Markov. This research used CA-Markov method to predict land cover in 2023. The results showed that in 2003, 2013, 2023 and 2032, built-up land annually experienced an increase in area, this is certainly influenced by the increase in population, and the need for land for settlement is getting higher every year. Agricultural land, non-agricultural land and open land continue to decrease in the area due to the conversion of these types of land cover to built-up land. The results of this prediction are very useful for the government in making policies related to sustainable spatial planning in the future.

Rational use of land in rural areas

Purpose – rational approaches to the use of land resources and regulation of landproperty relations of land categories of rural settlements (RS) are considered. Methods – monographic, analytical, statistical and abstract-logical. Results – the paper shows the problems of land use in the RS on the example of the regions of Kazakhstan and a number of rural districts. Problems of rural territorial units that need to be solved are identified. An assessment of the current regulatory and legislative framework regulating the rights of land users whose land is jointly owned is given, as well as the prospects for organizational and economic development. Options are proposed for a more complete and objective monitoring of the available territorial reserves of populated areas using improved methods for calculating the cadastral and market value of agricultural land. In turn, the economy of sustainable territories depends on how efficiently the land use of sites is organized. One of the most important aspects of the regional policy regarding the expenditure of land resources is the issue of increasing the effectiveness of their operation. Conclusions – the results of the research can be directed to the development of territorial planning schemes for the rational use of land in rural settlements and applied in practical land management activities, in particular, to provide information to the population with databases in the context of regions, districts and rural districts on the available land areas of rural settlements and management of land and property relations during their digitalization, as well as in electronic format for the introduction of a map of the land area of individual housing construction, personal subsidiary plots, etc. Attention should be paid to the quantitative reduction in agricultural land caused by rejection for industrial and urban planning needs.

The history of research and status of study of hyperhaline Kuyalnyk Estuary geoecosystem (Ukraine, North-Western Black Sea).

There is devoted to the comprehensive analysis of studies of one of the oldest estuaries of North-West Black Sea — the hyperhaline Kuyalnyk Estuary (an analogue of the Dead Sea in Ukraine). The interest for its study is determined by the richness of its mineral and balneological resources. The special attention attracts the valuable sulphide muds, which value, according to preliminary estimates, is about 7 billion dollars. Currently estuary is suffering from an ecological disaster: it is drying up, its morphometric characteristics are changing catastrophically (the water area surface and the depth are decreasing), the brine mineralization reaches 300 ‰ or more, and the salt from the exposed bottom of the estuary is transported to considerable distances, which threatens the salinization of agricultural lands and homesteads of coastal settlements. In that conditions the estuary loses the ability to restore its invaluable natural resources. Comprehensive information on the assessment of Kuyalnyk Estuary state and the state of its resources is extremely important for the development of measures for protection, restoration and preservation of this unique treasury of natural resources and the implementation of strategy for their rational use. We carried out a critical analysis and generalization of Kuyalnyk Estuary geoecosystem research results for the over a nearly 200-year period (1829-2020) for the first time. Here are highlighted the main stages and reflected directions of research, presented their chronology. The research and publishing activities also highlighted. The role and the work of societies members which were created at the Imperial Novorossiysk University (now the Odesa National University named after I.I. Mechnikov) in direction of research into the nature of Odesa estuaries, and in particular Kuyalnyk Estuary, its mineral and balneological resources, are discussed. The contribution of scientific organizations and scientists to development of research on the current stage also analyzed. The main attention paid to the fundamental complex research of the geo-ecosystem of Kuyalnyk Estuary. It shown that the modern period characterized by quite powerful system of data collection and intensive accumulation of knowledge about this unique reservoir. This made possible to generalize the material accumulated over these two centuries, which reflected in the work started in 2018. "Encyclopedia of Kuyalnik estuary" (in 8 volumes) was published by the Physical-Chemical Institute of Environmental and Human Protection of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

Surviving in the Post-Repatriation Era: Challenges and Opportunities for Papuan refugees after returning from Papua New Guinea

Although many studies have been carried out on the living conditions of Papuan refugees in Papua New Guinea, little is known about what happens to them once they have been repatriated to the Indonesian province of Papua. This study seeks to fill this void. By focusing on two areas of repatriants’ settlement in Papua Province (Kwimi village of Keerom and Nasem village of Merauke), this article examines their living conditions in the post-repatriation period and identify ways in which the Indonesian government can improve its repatriation program. Data were gathered through focus group discussions, observation, and library research between the second and third week of December 2021. This research, based on a qualitative descriptive approach, found that Papuan repatriants faced difficulties adjusting to life after repatriation. Among their challenges are reintegrating into the community, finding employment, funding their children’s education, gaining livelihoods, and clashing with land settlements. These difficulties stem from the government’s inability to provide proper assistance to repatriated individuals within the first five years of their settlement, which results in challenges for them during the reintegration process. This research also offers recommendations for Indonesia’s central and local governments to formulate a coordinated policy in handling repatriants; develop a project plan in the first five years covering the principles of safety, protection, mentoring, empowerment; and consider the repatriation issue in the country’s best interest. Keywords: Papua; Papua New Guinea; repatriants; refugee

Concession Policy in the Crosshairs of Revolutionary Self-Consciousness: Labor and Departmental Conflicts

The New Economic Policy solved a number of economic and production problems for early the Soviet Union. At the same time, it caused a series of conflicts associated with the delays of the reconstruction period, as well as with the disappointment of the more political active part of the population as it undermined the slogans of the socialist revolution as too distantly obtainable a prospect. The article examines the relations of a specific group of foreign concessionaires with local authorities, and the population of the territories handed over to them by the Soviet authorities for the exploitation of natural resources by utilizing a large number of diverse sources. The emphasis of the authors is placed on two types of non-industrial concessions - foresting (in Northern provinces) and agriculture, practices which continued, to some extent, the tradition of German colonization of southern Russian lands. The authors reveal common and different behavioral strategies of the concessionaires in their relations with the workers, and with the trade union activists; as well as in the attitude of the population and the local party and Soviet authorities to them. Without dwelling on the “predatory” forms of exploitation of the conceded natural resources, or the state line of gradually winding down the concession program, the authors consider another reason for the liquidation of concessions - protest by workers as their self-consciousness was awakened by the “return” of elements of Western capitalism by local party functionaries.

Kekuatan Hukum Berita Acara Penyelesaian Sengketa Tanah Oleh Kelurahan Watolo Sebagai Alas Hak Atas Tanah

Introduction: Land dispute over the Watolo family was not settled for nearly two decades, on the initiative of one side so that the issue was taken to kelurahan to be settled mediation.Purposes of the Research: To find out the legal force of the minutes of the settlement of land disputes by Watolo Village which is used as the basis for land rights. Methods of the Research: The research method used is the type of normative legal research that is descriptive analytical.Results of the Research: Based on this research, the minutes issued by the kelurahan are not the minutes of the proper meeting and cannot be used as a basis for rights because there are no laws or regulations that guarantee the strength of law and legal certainty and the minutes cannot be used as a basis for internal rights but can be used as evidence by both parties when the land dispute is continued to the trial stage in court.

Assessment of population dynamics and forest cover change in Yumbe District, Uganda

Sub-Saharan Africa is well endowed with both renewable and non-renewable natural resources critical in supporting several forms of development on the continent. Key among these is natural forest resources. However, the population explosion in sub-Saharan Africa in general and Uganda, in particular, is threatening the survival of these forests due to the associated increasing demand for food, fodder, energy, and land for settlement. The study was conducted in Yumbe district where the forests considered included woodland and bushland since tropical high forests have been depleted or degraded by human activities. We used a predictive model to map future forest cover loss amidst the rapidly increasing population in Yumbe district in Uganda. Specifically, the study analyzed the relationship between population dynamics and forest cover change to predict future forest cover changes. To analyze changes in forest cover, the study utilized Landsat satellite imagery for 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2021; while the population data for the respective years was obtained from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS). To explain the role of anthropogenic forces on forest cover change, the study considered different land use types as explanatory variables: planted forests, subsistence farmland, built-up areas, and other land use types. It then explored the interactions between these variables and forest cover change in the study area. Population-forest cover change model was developed to evaluate three decades of population and trends of forest cover to predict forest cover for 2032. The results indicate that in the three decades, the population increased by more than sixfold, and land area under subsistence agriculture, a proxy of population increased by 195.2%, but the forest cover declined by 80.3%. It is predicted that the forest cover will be lost completely by 2032 when the population reaches an estimated 838,078 from the current 657,430 people. This study, therefore, recommends that off-land employment opportunities such as tourism, apiary, transport, and manufacturing industries should be expanded in order to save forest resources from spatially extensive agricultural land uses. Key words: Forest, Forest cover loss, Predictive modeling, Population dynamics, Land use

Prediction of Land Cover Model for Central Ambon City in 2041 Using the Cellular Automata Markov Chains Method

The Ambon city center area based on the 2021-2041 RDTR is a center of economic, educational and cultural activities, this makes economic and population growth focused in this region. This also triggers the arrival of residents from other areas to Ambon City and will have an impact on increasing the provision of land for settlements. This condition is expected to trigger land conversion in this area. This study aims to analyze land cover changes in Ambon City in 2001, 2011, 2021 and predict land cover in 2041. This study uses Cellular Automata Markov Chains modeling to predict land cover in the central area of Ambon City in 2041. The results show that the type of built-up land cover and open land continued to increase in area, while agricultural and non-agricultural areas continued to experience a decrease in area and water bodies did not experience a decrease in area. The results of this study are expected to be used as a reference in managing the development of sustainable residential areas and as an effort to arrange land use in the Ambon City center area in the future based on ecological aspects.

Settlement of Land Disputes with the Competence of the State Administrative Court According to the Perspective of Indonesian Law

In the settlement of land disputes in each region, the characteristics are always different. In undeveloped areas, land dispute resolution is generally carried out by community leaders who are respected by local residents, namely customary heads or village heads. It can be said that cases of disputes in the land sector never subside; in fact, they tend to get more complicated and cause many problems, in line with Indonesia's economic, social, and political dynamics. The emergence of cases of land disputes in Indonesia lately seems to restate the fact that during Indonesia's independence, the state was still unable to guarantee land rights to its people, and the UUPA (Basic Agrarian Law) was only limited to marking the start of a new era. Land ownership, which was originally open and gradually developed into individual ownership, In this study, a normative juridical type was used through library research to identify and analyze legal factors that became obstacles in the application of laws and regulations, referring to laws and regulations on land and state administrative justice, court decisions, and other legal materials.

Applying the Ideas, Principles, and Theories of Past Landscape Architects to Modern Day Environmental Concerns

Throughout history, landscape architecture developed from garden art, and many different factors contributed to the development of this tendency. Even though landscape architecture is typically involved in the planning and design of land and water, it also contributes to the development of a safe, resilient, and sustainable view, which in turn encourages healthy living and responsible stewardship of the environment. At this time, the excessive use of land for settlement in the wake of urbanisation has resulted in the fragmentation of habitats, the loss of agricultural land, a lack of ancient ties, and the destruction of cultural landscapes. It would be to everyone's benefit to go back in time and explore the innovative approaches that landscape architects of the past were able to take in order to find answers to the pressing problems that are prevalent at the time. As a consequence of this, the research looks into well-known landscape architects from across history and the ways in which their designs have had an enduring effect. The findings of this study, which combine theoretical and analytical approaches, suggest that the restoration of landscapes may be viewed both as a means and a goal in addressing contemporary environmental concerns.

The Relation of Paser Ethnic Subalternity in the Process of Moving the Indonesian Capital City in East Kalimantan

The process of moving the National Capital in Panajam has had an impact on the original ethnicity that inhabits the location, in this case, the Paser ethnicity. These ethnic communities experience patterns of subalternity relations such as their settlement land and livelihood land are suddenly determined without their knowledge, are not involved in decision-making processes, they are prohibited from accessing the zero point and the Central Government Core Area, and are not given space to become local workers in the work of the State Capital projects. This pattern of subalternity relations then developed into a communal identity which became the basis for the spirit of this community to carry out struggles for emancipation. How this community defines itself as a subaltern is the formulation of the problem that will be answered by this research as well as a research objective. This research approach is based on a critical paradigm because the Paser ethnic community which is used as a research subject is in a cyborg position which requires the role of researchers as transformative intellectuals in helping them to get out of their problems. The research method used is a qualitative method with data collection in the form of interviews, FGDs, and observations, all of which are carried out in a participatory manner. The data were analyzed by finding patterns/themes of meaning and presented narratively. The results of the study found that the pattern of unequal relationships gave rise to collective anxiety and collective perceptions as a subordinated group. The conclusion of this study is the pattern of subaltern relations of the 4 dominant forces, namely the state, companies, dominant culture, and transmigrants, which makes them perceive their group as subordinate. The expected suggestion is that this community needs to continue to build awareness together to continue the struggle for the existence of culture and life while continuing to strive for community empowerment in the form of capacity building.

Analysis of the Dynamics of Water Flow and Suspension Flow Discharge in Volcano Watershed with Settlement Land Use

Suspension flow into the upstream of volcano watershed is sensitive to land use. In Indonesia, a settlement is a form of land use in several volcanic landscapes. There is currently no detailed study on the suspension flow sediment from the settlement land use. The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics of the relationship between water and suspension flow discharge. The study was conducted through the measurements at a gully outlet that produced 747 suspension load data. For each rainfall event, suspension load measurements were made in the field, followed by laboratory analysis. Additionally, field surveys were used to determine the characteristics of settlement land use and the water flow into the gully system. According to the findings, the peak flow discharge corresponds to the peak suspension discharge, the peak flow discharge comes before the peak suspension discharge, and the peak flow discharge happens after the peak suspension discharge. The average time lag between initial rainfall events and suspension flow was 10.36 minutes, and the suspension peak content varied by an average of 2.22 gl-1. The grain size was also dominated by the clay fraction, averaging 67.86% on the ascending branch and 67.82% on the descending branch.
 Keywords: Erosion; Discharge; Settlements; Suspension; Watershed
 
 Copyright (c) 2023 Geosfera Indonesia and Department of Geography Education, University of Jember
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Land-sea linkages on the Algerian Margin over the last 14 kyrs BP: Climate variability at orbital to centennial timescales

Past and present environmental conditions over the Holocene along the Algerian coast involve complex atmosphere-hydrosphere-biosphere interactions and anthropogenic activities on adjacent watersheds. Atlantic Ocean surface waters entering the western Mediterranean Sea at the Gibraltar Strait create the Algerian Current, which flows along the North African coast in a succession of strong and large-scale eddies. Deep-water upwelling plumes are other recurrent hydrological features of the Algerian margin affecting regional environmental features. However, vegetation and paleohydrological changes that have occurred over the Holocene have not yet been described. To bridge this gap, a suite of paleoclimate proxies was analysed in marine core MD04–2801 (2067 m water depth) at a secular-scale resolution over the last 14 kyrs BP. Terrestrial (pollen grains) and marine (dinoflagellate cysts or dinocysts) palynological assemblages, as well as sedimentological (grain-size analysis and XRD-based quantitative analysis of clay minerals) and biomarkers (alkenones and n-alkanes), were determined to explore the links between past sea surface hydrological conditions and regional environmental changes on nearby watersheds.The over-representation of heterotrophic dinocyst taxa (Brigantedinium spp.) indicates strong planktonic productivity in the study area. Results shows that the links between dryness on land and surface hydrological conditions are expressed by: (i) recurrent upwelling cells during the relatively dry climate conditions of the Younger Dryas (12.7 to 11.7 ka BP), the Early Holocene (11.7 to 8.2 ka BP) and from 6 ka BP onwards, (ii) enhanced fluvial discharges between 8.2 and 6 ka BP during the African Humid Period concomitant with the colonization of coastal lands by Mediterranean forest. Middle to Late Holocene transition around 4.2 ka BP characterizes by the intense event reffered to here as the Algerian Mega Drought (4.3 to 3.9 ka BP).

Multi‐level thresholds of residential and agricultural land use for elk avoidance across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Abstract Conversion of land for settlements and agriculture is increasing globally and can influence wildlife space use. However, there is limited research to identify the thresholds of land‐use change that incur wildlife avoidance and how these thresholds might vary across levels of selection. We evaluated multi‐level avoidance thresholds of elk Cervus canadensis impacted by residential development and irrigated agriculture across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Using GPS data from 765 elk in 21 herds, we estimated habitat selection in relation to development and agriculture at three levels (home range selection, within home range selection and movement path selection). Next, using individual selection covariates and associated measures of land‐use availability, we used functional‐response models to evaluate how selection varied based on availability, and in turn, to estimate avoidance thresholds. We found individual and level‐specific variation in elk responses to environmental factors. Elk exhibited stronger responses (either selection or avoidance) when selecting home range locations (i.e. second‐order selection) than when selecting areas within home ranges (i.e. third‐order selection) or selecting movement paths (i.e. fourth‐order selection). Importantly, elk avoidance of development and agriculture changed as the amount of land in these categories changed. Across all levels of selection elk exhibited neutral selection for human development at low levels of availability (<1.1%–2.2% developed) but avoided areas that were >1.1%–2.2% developed. Conversely, elk selected positively for irrigated agriculture at low to moderate levels of availability (<52.0%–66.2% agriculture) but exhibited neutral selection in areas that were >52.0%–66.2% agriculture. Synthesis and applications. Elk avoidance of low levels of human development suggests conservation efforts such as restrictions on future development or conservation easements could focus on areas that are still below 2% developed. Additionally, because elk selection was strongest at the landscape scale, conservation actions that are based on information about the overall landscape structure may be most impactful. Our results highlight the importance of understanding variability in wildlife habitat selection at multiple levels, particularly in relation to land‐use change, and highlight how functional response modelling can help inform landscape conservation.

Dynamics and Drivers of Land Use and Land Cover Change in the Upper Awash Basin, Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia.

This study analyzed the patterns and drivers of LULC dynamics in relation to the expansion of large-scale irrigated agriculture in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia from 1972 to 2016. Aerial photographs (1972), Landsat images (1980, 2000) and SPOT5 satellite images (2016) were analyzed using GIS tools to reveal LULC changes, and documentation, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were used to ascertain the biophysical and socioeconomic implications and drivers of these dynamics. The study revealed that cultivated and rural settlement land, and urban built-up areas had expanded at the expense of forestland, woodland, shrubland and grassland. While an increase in the production of cash crops had brought some benefits to smallholder farmers, such as access to irrigation and modern agricultural inputs and technologies, the unregulated conversion of natural vegetation to cultivated land resulted in a loss of biodiversity, deforestation, and reduction of pasture and firewood. We identified that significant LULC changes in the study area were caused by intersecting biophysical, economic, institutional, technological and demographic factors, which reinforced each other with varying magnitudes at different moments in time. These changes were underpinned by one key driver, that is, government agricultural policies that promoted investment in commercial agriculture for national and export markets. The study shows that understanding the complex interaction between the contributing factors and drivers of LULC change is crucial to inform decision-making and policies, in particular, by directing responses towards the underlying drivers of change rather than only the proximate causes.