Changes in Land Use Land Cover in Equatorial Coastal Forest of Kilifi County, Kenya

Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes influence human activities and policies related to environmental protection and conservation. These changes are usually anthropogenic in nature with population increase driving urbanization and agricultural expansion. These changes may result in environmental degradation thereby contributing to global problems like global warming. This study focused on analysing LULC changes in Arabuko Sokoke Forest (ASF) and Arabuko Sokoke Forest Region (ASFR) between 2001 and 2023, identifying the LULC conversions, and determining the deforestation rate. Landsat 7 ETM + and Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS satellite images were analysed using Google Earth Engine (GEE) to create 2001, 2012, and 2023 LULC maps. Conversion maps were generated using QGIS MOLUSCE tool. Seven LULC classes (forest, bareland, wetland, woodland, built-up, cropland, and water) were classified with overall accuracies and Kappa coefficients of above 93% and 91% respectively. For the 22-year period ASF and ASFR experienced forest annual loss of 629 ha(hectares)/year and 289 ha/year respectively. Additionally, 6682 ha and 8399 ha of the forest was converted to woodland within ASF and ASFR respectively. Existing literature suggest that these changes are largely driven by the interplay of social, economic, technical, and policy factors at national and local level. Therefore, multi-stakeholder interventions are required for effective mitigation.