People and sustainable land management: assessment of stakeholders knowledge of the nature of landuse/cover change in Abuja,Nigeria

Nature of Landuse/Land cover (LULC) changes has been assessed for many ecosystems, but there is limited knowledge on how different stakeholders perceive such changes. Information on this is required before sound interventions to address adverse impacts of the changes can be introduced. This paper utilised secondary and questionnaire survey data, complimented with focus group discussion, to assess how different stakeholders (famers, forestry workers, construction workers, artisans, resource managers, civil servants and private sector workers) perceive LULC changes induced by urban growth in rural (Karshi and Orozo) and urban (Karu and Nyanya) areas of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) of Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. LULC change data revealed declines in cultivated areas, grasslands and bare lands, and corresponding expansion of built-up and vegetated areas over 1987–2014. Different stakeholders in both rural and urban locations of the area are generally aware of the nature of the changes. Those in rural locations have some very close interactions with features such as soil, water, and vegetation and are aware of the kinds of their changes. The urban dwellers are largely aware of changes in human aspects of the LULC. The respondents generally indicated that vegetation cover has been declining due to urban growth in the study area but secondary data analysis revealed opposite trend. Appropriate recommendations were given to improve soil, water and vegetation management in the study area.