LAND USE CHANGE ANALYSIS OF KOUAY AND XOR VILLAGES IN SANGTHONG DISTRICT, VIENTIANE CAPITAL LAO PDR

Abstract

Poor law enforcement, appropriate policies, lack of human and financial resources and inadequate planning and monitoring systems. The change in forest cover areas is not a matter of great concern in Lao PDR, but it disrupts the global environmental system and threatens the global biodiversity and the sustainability of livelihoods. This study uses Remote Sensing and Lao PDR has one of the most pristine forest ecosystems in the Southeast Asia. These forest ecosystems have played a key component for national socio-economic development as well as support livelihoods of rural villagers/farmers for housing, food, incomes and other activities daily. Over the past few decades, however, forest covers areas have rapidly declined from 64 % in the mid 1960 to 41.5% in recent time. Many studies have shown that the decrease of forest cover in Lao PDR is associated with a number of factors, including Geographic Information System to detect land use and forest cover changes in Kouay and Xor Villages, Sangthong district, Vientiane capital, Lao PDR during a ten-year period (2000-2009). Landsat-7 ETM+ and Landsat5 TM are employed to analyzed and classified the data, information and images (obtained from the sites and other sources). Firstly, the study assesses land use and forest cover change during 2000 – 2009 and then the study identifies main factors and drivers that have caused land use and forest cover degradation during a ten-year period as well as in three specific time such as 2000, 2006 and 2009. This research finds that the land use and forest cover areas in Kouay and Xor villages have significant changes. The changes in land use and forest cover in these two villages have been to due rapid population growth, traditional practice of slash and burn cultivation, poor law enforcement and lack of human capital and financial resources. Further, the study finds that inappropriate long-term forest and land management plans, inadequate monitoring systems, poor communication systems among stakeholders and poverty have contributed to land degradation and deforestation in Kouay and Xor villages between 2000 and 2009. More specifically, the study finds that the areas of deciduous forest in the region declined sharply, from 90.85 Sq.km in 2000 to 51.63 Sq.km in 2009. In contrast, Ray/shifting cultivation is increased more than two folds in the same period, from 28.84 Sq.km in 2000 to 62.69 Sq.km in 2009. Unstocked forest also indicated some little changes. In 2000, unstocked forest areas covered about 45.09 Sq.km and increased to 54.01 Sq.km in 2006, but it was plumped to 42.38 Sq.km in 2009.