ASSESSMENT OF LAND USE AND LAND COVER CHANGE IN OMO FOREST RESERVE

ABSTRACT

Forests are crucial natural resources that play a vital role in providing various benefits to humanity, including food, furniture, fuelwood, timber, and habitat for animals and plants. Over the past few decades, global forests have been experiencing significant changes in their extent and composition. The increased pressure on the forests due to significant growth in human disturbance particularly in the tropics has resulted in a consistent degradation of the forest areas. The study revealed that the natural forest area of the Omo Forest Reserve covers about 1403.6sq.km. Landsat satellite imageries with a total interval of thirty- seven (37) years interval were used for this study. They were The images were pre-processed for geometric an 1403.6sq.km metric corrections and georeferenced to the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS 84) datum and projected to the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection system. The study was targeted at conducting a comprehensive analysis on the forest cover within the Omo reserve using remote sensing and satellite imaging analysis techniques for year 1987, 2002 ,and 2023. The annual rate of deforestation of forest area was across the study period shows a loss over a specific time period. For the period between 1987 to 2002 and 1987 to 2023, the forest experienced an annual loss of 1.5% and 0.57% respectively (Figureure 6). However, within the period of 2002 to 2023, the forest area experienced an annual increase of 0.95%. We can therefore say that the assessment of forest area changes is an indispensable tool for understanding the dynamic nature of forest ecosystems and their interactions with various natural and anthropogenic factors. These findings underscore the urgent need for policy interventions, sustainable land use practices, and community engagement to mitigate the negative consequences of forest area changes.