Lower Atrai Basin, locally known as Chalanbeel, is an important physiographic landscape (wetland) in Bangladesh. It plays a vital role in agriculture and fish production throughout the year. However, the vital resources of this wetland are undergoing several challenges and changes regularly because of various human activities and land-use dynamics. The study examined land use changes in the Atrai Basin over the years 2003, 2013, and 2023 using images from Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 and 9 OLITIRS. The ArcGIS 10. 4 and Envi software were used to process the satellite images, and a maximum likelihood algorithm classification was used to show the supervised land use classification. Additionally, community responses from the Jonail Union residents through a semi-structured short questionnaire were used to justify the findings of the remote sensing analysis. In 2003, agricultural land covered 337. 97 hectares, which saw a significant increase to approximately 724. 94 hectares by 2023. This trend contrasts with other wetlands in the country, where agricultural land use patterns are significantly declining due to urbanization, deforestation, and human pressure. Local residents are expanding agricultural land usage over time, as they are reaping more benefits from agricultural outputs compared to other land use types. More than 40% of local residents believe agricultural land uses are more beneficial than other patterns, including wetlands, settlements, and fallow or unused land. The findings and analysis of this research will be beneficial for both government and non-government planners, as well as researchers, in regard to sustainable land management planning.
Emon et al. (2026) studied this question.