Analyzing Variations in Size and Intensities in Land Use Dynamics for Sustainable Land Use Management: A Case of the Coastal Landscapes of South-Western Ghana

Evelyn Asante-Yeboah, George Ashiagbor, Kwabena Asubonteng, Stefan Sieber, Justice C. Mensah and Christine Fürst
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Evelyn Asante-Yeboah: Department of Sustainable Landscape Development, Institute for Geosciences and Geography, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Seckendorff-Platz 4, 06120 Halle(Saale), Germany
George Ashiagbor: Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Kwabena Asubonteng: Faculty of Natural Resource Management, University of Development Studies, Nyampala, Ghana
Stefan Sieber: Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Eberswalder Str. 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany
Justice C. Mensah: Hen Mpoano (our Coast), Sekendi-Takoradi, Ghana
Christine Fürst: Department of Sustainable Landscape Development, Institute for Geosciences and Geography, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Seckendorff-Platz 4, 06120 Halle(Saale), Germany

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 6, 1-28

Abstract: Land use/land cover change (LULCC) studies are gaining prominence among environmentalist and land use planners. This is due to the effects of LULCCs on natural ecosystems and livelihoods. In the coastal landscape of south-western Ghana, there exist knowledge gaps in the variations in size and intensities in LULCCs and the degree of change among land cover types in LULCC studies. Such studies are important for identifying periods of rapid land cover transitions and their implications on the landscape. Using change detection, intensity analysis and informal stakeholder conversations, the land use system dynamics of the study landscape was analyzed over a 34-year period to assess the variations in size and intensities in LULC transitions and its implications. The results showed a dynamic landscape driven primarily by rubber and settlement expansions. Rubber and settlement increased threefold (172.65%) and fourfold (449.93%) in the 34-year period mainly due to rubber outgrower scheme and onshore infrastructural developments, respectively. Gains in rubber and settlement targeted arable lands. The LULCC implies local food insecurity issues, declines in ecosystem services and compromised livelihoods, hence, the enforcement of the Land Use and Spatial Planning Act (2016) is recommended in land use planning in the coastal landscapes of south-western Ghana.

Keywords: land use dynamics; intensity analysis; socio-economic factors; sustainable landscape development; Ghana (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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