Assessment of Land use land cover changes in Kangpokpi district, Manipur using Geospatial Technology

Land use and land cover dynamics play a critical role in shaping ecological stability and socio-economic development, particularly in environmentally sensitive regions like Kangpokpi district, Manipur. This study employs geospatial technology to assess temporal changes in LULC patterns over the past tow decades, integrating satellite imagery, remote sensing techniques, and GIS- based spatial analysis. Using multi-temporal Sentinel dataset (2017,2020, and 2024), supervised classification was performed to delineate major LULC categories including forest, Agricultural land, Settlement, Shrubland and Water. The results reveal a marked decline in forest cover, accompanied by an expansion of agricultural land and settlement, driven by population growth, shifting cultivation practices, and infrastructural development. Change detection and Gain-and Loss analysis highlights spatial hotspots of land transformation. This research offers a replicable framework for monitoring landscape changes and informing sustainable land use planning in hill districts. The findings underscore the urgency of policy measures that balance development with ecological conservation, and advocate for region-specific strategies to mitigate land degradation and promote resilient land stewardship in Kangpokpi.