Mapping land use dynamics at a regional scale in Southwestern Nigeria

Studying land use dynamics in Southwestern Nigeria (SWN) is essential for analysing various ecological and developmental consequences of land use change over time. This region is of great environmental and economic importance, its original land cover being the humid tropical rainforest and availability of gold in commercial quantity. In order to serve as repositories of the primary habitats of the forest ecosystems, some portions were designated as forest reserves by the government. With increasing population and heightened economic activities, especially gold mining, available land area in this region is continuously shrinking resulting in forest incursion. This makes land use mapping and change detection an essential input into decision-making for implementing appropriate policy responses relating to land use conflicts in the region. In SWN, land use change detection allows for the identification of major processes of change and, by inference, the characterization of land use dynamics. This paper describes a case of land-use mapping and change detection in the Osun state goldfield of SWN using remote sensing in addition to existing topographic maps and fieldwork. Indicators of environmental degradation were established with a view to promoting development in the region based on the principle of environmental sustainability.