Impact of Urbanization on Land use and Land Cover Changes in Growing Cities of Rwanda

Abstract

Objectives : This research examined the effect of urbanization on environmental justice in Rwanda from 1999 to 2019. Specifically, the research sought to document changes in land use and land cover in the study region in order to analyze the environmental consequences of urban growth in Rwanda.Methods : Land use/land cover patterns were identified and modelled using remotely sensed data.Results and Discussion : The findings revealed that in the majority of cases, economic development influenced land use change in various aspects, both in terms of area and intensity, which replaced agricultural land with human settlements. For example Nyagatare city, built-up areas have expanded by 15 to 20%, while forests, vegetation, and waterbodies have decreased by 49%. It has been noted that urbanization is out of step with the natural urban environment, resulting in soil erosion, violent winds, flooding, and landslides, all of which are linked to environmental injustice. Also, settlement destruction, flooding, infrastructure damage, loss of natural habitat, and agricultural loss were all linked to urban expansion, particularly uncontrolled settlements in metropolitan contexts, with 64 people killed and 178 injured in just five years.Conclusion : Therefore, this shows that there are consequences of biodiversity losses which affect land use and land cover. To overcome, the research suggests current households located in high-risk zones be moved to the convenient zones and the government policy to focus on family planning, encouraging the flexibility of land use, crop production, and farming systems based on agroecosystem models, and strengthening the greening city strategy by raising public understanding on environmental issues.