Assessing the Impact of Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) Changes on the Biodiversity of River Ravi, Lahore—Pakistan

Abstract

Growing cities and increasing built-up area represent a significant threat to natural ecosystems with freshwater ecosystems being among the most endangered ones. Thus, this work aims to evaluate the impact of land use and land cover change on biodiversity with a focus on freshwater ecosystems. The study was conducted in the vicinity of River Ravi in Lahore District in Pakistan. The comparison of satellite images from years 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2017 using GIS techniques revealed that built-up area tripled in these 27 years. As a result, the share of water bodies and green areas significantly decreased. Biodiversity change was assessed based on a review of 14 scientific articles dating from 2009 and later. It showed that the River Ravi's biodiversity has been declining at an alarming rate, and it was in a correlation with increasing urbanization rate. Moreover, the condition of river water correlates with the declining biodiversity of the river. Riparian biodiversity and aquatic life are at risk in case this situation continues. An economically strong city could lose one of its assets as a result. Thus, authorities should take immediate actions to control the wastage dumped in the river as well as the industrial water processing.