Sustainable management of the natural resources requires critical understanding of the dynamics of land use and land cover change (LULCC). Nguruman sub-catchment in the northern part of Kajiado County has experienced rapid land use and land cover changed over the past decades. However, the extent to which these changes have impacted on the ecosystem and indigenous livelihoods has not been assessed. This remains a critical challenge that must be addressed due to its potential severe impacts on rural human livelihoods especially in arid and semi-arid areas in Kenya.

Land Use and Land Cover Change (LULCC) is the most prominent cause of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) variability in any landscape. Kenyan Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) have been facing extensive land use/ cover changes in the last three decades prompting a review on the impacts it has on soil quality and consequently on land degradation. This study was carried out in 2016 in Olesharo Catchment, Narok County, one of the prominent ASALs of Kenya.

Region:East Africa.Focus:A review of catchment studies (n = 37) conducted in East Africa evaluating the impacts ofLand Use and Land Cover Changes (LULCC) on discharge, surface runoff, and lowflows.New hydrological insights:Forest cover loss is accompanied by increased stream discharges andsurface runoff. No significant difference in stream discharge is observed between bamboo andpine plantation catchments, and between cultivated and tea plantation catchments.

The Thika Superhighway is perhaps the most massive infrastructural project in the East African region, save for perhaps the standard gauge railway (SGR) project. It was anticipated by the business community, leading to the change of use of land along it, manifested in the development of malls and housing estates. This land use change is continuing despite the road having been completed in February of the year 2012. The road was built with the aim of easing the traffic congestion problem, but traffic congestion persists.

The objective of the study was to detect and identify land cover changes in Laikipia County of Kenya that have occurred during the last three decades. The land use types of study area are six, of which three are the main and the other three are the minor. The main three, forest, shrub or bush land and grassland, changed during the period, of which grasslands reduced by 5864 ha (40%), forest by 3071 ha (24%) and shrub and bush land increased by 8912 ha (43%).

The Land Use Bill objective is to guarantee the continued existence of communal and family land in accordance with the culture and tradition of the people of Cross River State/Nigeria in so far as the culture and tradition are in accordance with equity, natural justice and good conscience. The bill proposes to fundamentally reform the land sector, liberalise state control over customary land, increase accessibility to land, and secure land rights for everyone interested in using land for development purposes. This document is a discussion draft of the Bill.

In Indonesia, land cover change for agriculture and mining is threatening tropical forests, biodiversity and ecosystem services. However, land cover change is highly dynamic and complex and varies over time and space. In this study, we combined Landsat-based land cover (change) mapping, pixel-to-pixel cross tabulations and expert knowledge to analyze land cover change and forest loss in the West Kutai and Mahakam Ulu districts in East Kalimantan from 1990-2009.

Cropland expansion threatens biodiversity by driving habitat loss and impacts carbon storage through loss of biomass and soil carbon (C). There is a growing concern land use change (LUC) to cropland will result in a loss of ecosystem function and various ecosystem services essential for human health and wellbeing. This paper examines projections of future cropland expansion from an integrated assessment model IMAGE 3.0 under a 'business as usual' scenario and the direct impact on both biodiversity and C storage.

The transition from fossil to renewable energy needs changes in land use. The development of renewable energy sources introduce extra and sometimes new externalities, such as shadows and noise on landscape. There are governments who are experiencing difficulties when developing renewable energy sources especially when existing land owners (and others) start anticipating on those externalities. Therewith, land use conflicts have become a major issue for governments in meeting renewable energy policy objectives.

Urbanization and climate changes have direct impacts on ecosystems and the services they provide to society, thus influencing human well-being and health. Urban sprawl may conflict with ecosystem services, e.g. enhancing water-related stresses and risks of, e.g., droughts and floods, with significant economic, environmental and societal impacts. Such hydro-climatic extremes and their societal impacts are evident around the world. East Africa is a region with highly vulnerable populations to frequent floods and droughts.

Land abandonment is widespread in the Mediterranean mountains. The impact of agricultural abandonment results in a shift in ecosystem evolution due to changes in soil erosion, but little is known about long-term soil and water losses. This paper uses 11 years of measurements in two paired plots (abandoned vs control) with four subplots to determine how soil and water losses evolved after abandonment within an agricultural parcel. For two years (2004–2005) both plots were under tillage, and after 2006 one plot was abandoned.

Explorations of future land use change are important to understand potential conflicts between competing land uses, trade-offs associated with particular land change trajectories, and the effectiveness of policies to steer land systems into desirable states. Most model-based explorations and scenario studies focused on conversions in broad land use classes, but disregarded changes in land management or focused on individual sectors only.