Implications of land use and land cover dynamics for mountain resource degradation in the Northwestern Ethiopian highlands

Land use and land cover changes that occured from 1957 to 1995 in the Dembe cha area, Gojam in the Northwestern high lands of Ethiopia, were monitored using a geographic information system (G/S) and a remote sensing approach w ith field verification. The study area covers 27,100 ha and is representati ve of Gojam, which is known for its cereal production and export of surplus to major cities of the country. However, given the age-old tradition of cl earing increasingly steeper land for cultivation and the lack of appropriat e land use policies, productivity is currently heavily threatened by soil d egradation. The results show that the natural forest cover declined from 27 % in 1957 to 2% in 1982 and 0.3% in 1995. The total natural forest cleared between 1957 and 1995 amounts to 7259 ha. This is 99% of the forest cover t hat existed in 1957. On the other hand, cultivated land increased from 39% in 1957 to 70% in 1982 and 77% in 1995. The greatest expansion occurred bet ween 1957 and 1982 (about 78%) and slowed down between 1982 and 1995 (only 10%) because almost no land was left for further expansion. Throughout the period covered by the study, cultivation encroached upon the very last marg inal areas and steep slopes with gradients > 30%. Such a dramatic change in 4 decades and the increasing proportion of completely degraded lands, from virtually nil in 1957 to about 3% in 1995, clearly indicates the prevailin g danger of land degradation in the area.