Erik Jeppesen

TY - JOUR

T1 - Land use and land cover changes in the owabi reservoir catchment, Ghana

T2 - Implications for livelihoods and management

AU - Antwi-Agyei, Philip

AU - Kpenekuu, Felix

AU - Hogarh, Jonathan N.

AU - Obiri-Danso, Kwasi

AU - Abaidoo, Robert C.

AU - Jeppesen, Erik

AU - Andersen, Mathias Neumann

PY - 2019/7

Y1 - 2019/7

N2 - Reservoir catchments in Ghana have undergone significant changes in recent years with major implications for socio-economic development and local livelihoods. We studied land use and land cover changes and their impacts on livelihoods in the Owabi reservoir catchment from 1970 to 2014 using Landsat, ERDAS Imagine and Arc Geographic Information System (ArcGIS 10.2) software supplemented with participatory approaches including focus group discussions, key informant interviews and questionnaire surveys with 400 households. Our results showed that, since 1970, 24.6% of high-density forests and 15.8% of sparse forests have disappeared, while the built-up area has increased from 9.8% to 56.6%. Additionally, the proportion of bare soil (areas that do not have vegetation cover due to forest clearing and other anthropogenic activities) has increased, while the areas of waterbodies have declined. We identified urbanisation and lack of community involvement in catchment management as the key factors driving the land cover changes that have adversely affected the livelihoods of the local fringe communities. This study highlights the threats from urbanisation to land cover changes and identifies the key drivers of land use change. For effective and sustainable management of natural resources, the local communities should be more actively involved in the decision-making process regarding the management of their individual catchments.

AB - Reservoir catchments in Ghana have undergone significant changes in recent years with major implications for socio-economic development and local livelihoods. We studied land use and land cover changes and their impacts on livelihoods in the Owabi reservoir catchment from 1970 to 2014 using Landsat, ERDAS Imagine and Arc Geographic Information System (ArcGIS 10.2) software supplemented with participatory approaches including focus group discussions, key informant interviews and questionnaire surveys with 400 households. Our results showed that, since 1970, 24.6% of high-density forests and 15.8% of sparse forests have disappeared, while the built-up area has increased from 9.8% to 56.6%. Additionally, the proportion of bare soil (areas that do not have vegetation cover due to forest clearing and other anthropogenic activities) has increased, while the areas of waterbodies have declined. We identified urbanisation and lack of community involvement in catchment management as the key factors driving the land cover changes that have adversely affected the livelihoods of the local fringe communities. This study highlights the threats from urbanisation to land cover changes and identifies the key drivers of land use change. For effective and sustainable management of natural resources, the local communities should be more actively involved in the decision-making process regarding the management of their individual catchments.

KW - ADAPTATION

KW - CLIMATE VULNERABILITY

KW - FOOD SYSTEMS

KW - Geographic Information System

KW - IMPACT

KW - West Africa

KW - climate change

KW - food security

KW - participatory methods

KW - sustainable development goals

KW - urbanisation

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85069630661&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/geosciences9070286

DO - 10.3390/geosciences9070286

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85069630661

VL - 9

JO - Geosciences

JF - Geosciences

SN - 2076-3263

IS - 7

M1 - 286

ER -