Land use/land cover change assessment of Halda watershed using remote sensing and GIS

Abstract Being the only tidal river where major Indian carps spawn naturally, Halda is a unique heritage of Bangladesh and the surroundings of this river undergo chronological changes because of rapid urbanization, anthropogenic and socioeconomic activities. In this study, an attempt has been made to analyze Land use/land cover change (LULCC) of Halda Watershed over the last 40 years using multispectral satellite data obtained from Landsat 2 MSS for April 15, 1978; Landsat 5 TM for February 26, 1999 and Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS for May 2, 2017. The watershed has been classified into five major land cover/use classes viz. Agriculture, Bare soil, Settlements, Vegetation and Water Body. Resultant LULC and overlay maps indicate a significant shift from Vegetation (35.1%) and Water class (85.47%) to Agriculture, Bare soil and Settlements. This study envisages to facilitate policy makers, planners and other associated development workers to adopt the best suitable land-use management option for Halda Watershed.