Kitalika, Innocent Japhet2020-04-052020-04-052018Kitalika, I. J. (2018). Assessment of land use and land cover changes in Usangu water catchment, Tanzania. Master dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam.http://41.86.178.5:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/9034Available in print form, East Africana Collection, Dr. Wilbert Chagula Library, Class mark (THS EAF HD110.5.T34K572)Land Use and Land Cover Change has been an area of interest for studies worldwide due to its major changes and the associated impacts. The purpose of this dissertation was to assess the impacts of Land Use and Land Cover Changes in Usangu Water Catchment. The study was guided by three specific objectives which were: - to determine Land Use and Land Cover Changes in Usangu Water Catchment between 1986 and 2017, to examine the effects of Land Use and Land Cover change on River Flows in Usangu Water Catchment as well as to predict the Land Use and Land Cover of Usangu water catchment in ten years to come for sustainable natural resources conservation. The research methods used in this study were documentary search, in-depth interviews and observation. Documentary search data included Satellite images that were collected from United States Geological Survey Earth Explorer website; rainfall and river’s discharge data that were collected from Rufiji Basin Development Authority. Observation Data were collected by using Global Positioning Systems etrex 10, digital camera and Google Earth pro. A total of 9 key informants which consisted of 4 elders and 5 Government officials were obtained through purposive sampling and were interviewed. Data analysis were accomplished through ArcMap 10.3 and Idrisi Selva for satellite images data. Moreover, NVivo 11 Pro and OriginPro 11 used to analyse rainfall and river flow data. Key findings were that, almost all Land Use and Land Cover had a remarkable transformation during the 30 year study period; open bush land and mixed forest were mostly subject to change, water bodies were affected to a great extent in 1990’s to around 2000’s. The Ruaha upstream and downstream in the study area exhibited a very low discharge during dry seasons almost in the whole study period, as it appeared to flow at the rate of almost 0.5m 3/s even less than this amount. The results from prediction in CA_Markov revealed the conversion of mixed forest and open bush land by 0.14% and 2.5%, respectively, to agriculture and bare land by 2027. Furthermore, the author concludes that there is massive conversion of mixed forest and open bush land to agriculture and bare land in the study area that lead to decreased water flow in the Great Ruaha River. In minimizing the observed negative changes in Land Use and Land Cover in relation to water bodies, conservation efforts by authorities and stakeholders concerned with environmental management issues in the study area should be increased. The author recommends further studies similar to this to use Arc SWAT spatial model to widen analysis on the relationship between Land Use and Land Cover and water resources.enLand useLand coverUsanguMbeyaTanzaniaAssessment of land use and land cover changes in Usangu water catchment, Tanzania.Thesis