Land Use Land Cover Change and its Pathways in Sidin VDC, Panchthar District, Nepal

Land use/land cover situation is an important indicator of human interaction with environment. It reflects both environmental situation and the livelihood strategies of the people in space over time. This paper has attempted to study the land use/ land cover change of Sidin VDC, in the Koshi River basin in Nepal, based on maps and Remote sensing imageries (RS) data and household survey using structured questionnaires, focus group discussion and key informant interview. The study has focused on analysis the trend and pathways of land use change by dividing the study area into three elevation zones – upper, middle and lower. The time series data analysis from 1994-2004-2014 show major changes in forest and agricultural land. The dominant pathways of change is from forest to agriculture and forest to shrub during 1994-2004 and agriculture to forest during 2004-2014. The development of community forest, labor migration and labor shortage are found the major causes of land use change. The Geographical Journal of Nepal Vol. 11: 77-94, 2018