Abstract:
The Rio Del Rey (RDR) wetland is one of the richest Ramsar sites in west and Central Africa
with numerous ecosystem services supporting numerous livelihood activities. The unprecedented
rate of exploitation brings about changes in land use/land cover (LULC) with devastating
impacts on the ecosystem services on which livelihoods depend. This study sets out to identify
the ecosystem services on which livelihood depend in the area and also examine the land
use/land cover dynamics. Both primary and secondary data were employed in order to attain the
objectives. Primary data were obtained from the field and included livelihood activities which
were collected with the use of questionnaires and a camera. A Global Positioning System
handset was also used to collect Ground Control Points (GCPs) for LULC change analysis.
Secondary data were gotten through the review of literature from libraries and internet. Satellite
images for 1990, 2002, 2010 and 2020 were downloaded from the Global Land Cover Facility to
produce the land use maps and statistics generated from the maps were used for further land use
change analysis. GIS techniques were used in the analysis of satellite imageries. Findings
revealed the availability of numerous provisioning goods and supporting services which support
livelihood activities. It also revealed five land use/land cover categories in the study area and
great transformation in LULC within the period under investigation. |
