Assessment of Land Use and Land Cover Changes (LULC) in the North Talihya River Watershed (Lubero Territory, Eastern DR Congo)

A rapid decline in forest cover, coupled with increasing savannization, has been documented in the North Talihya River Watershed, a critical agropastoral region bordering Virunga National Park. Over 34 years (1987–2020), forest area shrank by 51%, from 253.11 km² to just 123.04 km², primarily due to conversion into croplands and fallows, with an annual deforestation rate of 2.18%. This transformation, driven by high population density and agricultural expansion, threatens residual forest ecosystems vital for biodiversity conservation in a UNESCO World Heritage Site-adjacent landscape. The study employed satellite imagery (Landsat TM+, ETM+, and Sentinel-2) with Maximum Likelihood classification to quantify these changes, underscoring the urgent need for ecosystem restoration strategies.

Kapiri, M. M., Mahamba, J. A., Mulondi, G. K., & Sahani, W. M. (2023). Assessment of Land Use and Land Cover Changes (LULC) in the North Talihya River Watershed (Lubero Territory, Eastern DR Congo). Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 11(01), 189–210. https://doi.org/10.4236/gep.2023.111013