Reported driving factors of land-use/cover changes and its mounting consequences in Ethiopia: A Review

Abstract

Obviously, there is land-use/cover change with multifaceted driving factors and associated adverse impacts out there in different parts of Ethiopia. Evidence from published journals justifies this fact but not yet compiled in a manner to convey information on the trend of change and its criticality with the aim to handle the problems. Thus, filing up all the driving factors and its adverse out come from different corners of Ethiopia together under one reviewed journal would help for policy measures and management aspects. In view of this, critical driving factors of land-use/cover change and all its possible consequences bridged together by reviewing highly relevant published journals. Deforestation, high human and livestock population, investment (coffee, tea plantations), agricultural activities ranging from small-scale subsistence agriculture to large-scale commercial agricultural schemes, urban sprawling, charcoal production, woodland collection, poor law enforcement, land rotation searching for better grazing land, resettlement (spontaneous and planned), prevalence of drought, were the leading drivers of land-use/cover change in Ethiopia. In response to these driving factors, the following are major identified adverse effects such as loss of biodiversity and ecosystem service degradation, deterioration of wetlands, creation of new landscape, rainfall variability, reduction in stream flow, increase frequent extreme in weather, conflicts of interest due to resource scrambling, soil and land degradation, prevalence of drought, increase in runoff and sedimentations, increased risk of desertification and woody land cover reduction. In general, these systematic reviews hopefully uncover all the existing scenarios and give mental picture of wide range driving factors of land-use/cover change and associated problems for stakeholders across the country as they might develop ways to end/reduce further vulnerabilities.   Key words: Land-use/cover change, driving factors, adverse impacts, Ethiopia.