GIS in Colombian Post-Conflict Land Use Planning
Publisher: Procedia Environmental Science, Engineering and Management
Author(s): Hernán Granda-Rodriguez, Jenny Patricia-Vanegas, Daniel Robledo-Buitrago, John Jairo Castañeda, Edier Fernando Ávila-Vélez, and Miguel A. De Luque-Villa
Date: 2021
Topics: Assessment, Data and Technologies, Land, Renewable Resources
Countries: Colombia
This research collected and interpreted geographic and temporal data on changes in land use coverage in order to improve sustainable development and land use planning in Silvania, Colombia. This study was carried out in the municipality of Silvania, Colombia where a spatio-temporal land cover change analysis was carried out for the years 1994 to 2018. Photointerpretation of satellite images was done with ArcGIS 10.5, following the Corine Land Cover methodology. In the last 20 years in the municipality of Silvania, land use changed from Forest and semi-nature areas; only 6% was lost. These changes were not significant when compared to other areas in Colombia where deforestation has increased after armed conflict ended. Armed conflict in Silvania may have, to some extent, prevented an accelerated rate of deforestation. Strategic planning is urgently needed in this municipality with the help of different technological tools, such as GIS, that are important for land use planning because they facilitate the understanding and analysis of information related to the territory.