ABSTRACT
This chapter provides information for decision-makers and development practitioners about the magnitude and dimensions of long-term forest cover changes, its drivers and impacts in the study area and surrounding areas. The invention of satellite remote sensing techniques and the introduction of affordable, powerful computing devices in such areas are getting deserved international attention with detailed studies and mapping. Different methods and techniques were used to measure and analyse spatial and non-spatial data. Landsat and SPOT satellite images from 1986, 1999 and 2007 were analysed to identify forest cover changes in the Gumara-Maksegnit watershed. The quantitative evidence of forest cover dynamics showed a substantial decline in forest cover since 1986. As a result of deforestation, local people have faced many environmental problems such as loss of biodiversity, drying of streams and water bodies, firewood scarcity and lack of fodder and construction timber. It is important to engage the farmers in different off-farm activities to reduce the pressure on forest resources.
