Impact Of Human Population On Land Degradation In Former Lugari District, Kakamega County, Kenya

The increase in human population has put tremendous pressure on natural resources. In Kenya, the growing human population is associated with an increase in developmental needs thus posing a threat to the land resource. This problem has been noted in the high potential areas of the country which support a large population seeking to fully exploit the land resources for their livelihoods and welfare. In Lugari district, human population has been increasing over the years and people have changed land use systems that have caused a reduced land cover and subsequent land degradation. The main objective of this study was to examine the relationship between the increase in human population and land degradation over a period of 38 years. Specific objectives of the study sought to: determine the extent of land degradation emanating from human activities, to assess the relationship between human activities on land use and land cover changes, and to assess and describe the types of land conservation and management measures that are practiced in Lugari district. To achieve these objectives, the study utilized four land-sat satellite imageries (1973 MSS, 1988 TM, 2003 ETM and 2010 ETM+) that were processed and analyzed using GIS software to produce GIS maps to detect and quantify land cover changes in Lugari district during the years: from 1973 to 1988, and 2003 to 2010. An accuracy assessment of the satellite imageries classification was conducted with field assessment points as reference data and an overall accuracy of 78.57% with a Kappa statistic of 0.75 were obtained.