Comparative Analysis of Land Use/Land Cover Change and Watershed Urbanization in the Lakeside Counties of the Kenyan Lake Victoria Basin Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

The ecosystems and landscape patterns in Lake Victoria basin are increasingly being modified by changes in land use/land cover. Understanding dynamics of these changes is essential for appropriate planning. This study evaluated changes in landscape environment, of the lakeside counties of the Kenyan Lake Victoria basin, which have occurred over a fortyyear period and their potential impacts on the lake using remote sensing and GIS techniques. Landsat imageries of 1978, 1988, 1998, 2008 and 2018 were analyzed for each county to develop land use and land cover maps and to detect and quantify changes using the Maximum Likelihood algorithm. Supervised classification was utilized. The study showed that the six land use/land cover classes, identified in the counties, have undergone drastic modifications in a span of four decades. Over the years, built-up areas steadily increased in all the counties, forested and vegetated areas steadily declined in all the counties, areas under water bodies remained relatively constant in all counties, while the rest of the land use and land cover types experienced periodic rise and falls in areal coverage. Generally, the major gains in coverage by the various land use and land cover types occurred between 2008 and 2018 while major losses occurred between 1978 and 1988. The study suggests that future regional conservation measures should take cognisance of the general ecological and socio-political processes in the entire Lake Victoria basin for integrated watershed conservation.