Gis-Based Assessment Of Gibe Iii Dam’s Impact On Land Use Land Cover And Livelihoods: A Case Of Loma District, Southwestern Ethiopia

Abstract

Hydroelectric dams are usually constructed to provide a solution to the high demand of people for electricity however, it influences land use land cover change which affects the livelihood of communities. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the impact of the Gibe III dam on land use land cover, and the livelihood of surrounding rural communities using GIS approach in Loma district. The study has examined land use-land cover changes for the last 2005-2015,2015-2022 and 2005-2022 three consecutive study periods using Landsat imageries applying the postclassification comparison change detection techniques. Furthermore descriptive and paired sample t-test were employed to analyze socio-economic data. The result of land use land cover changes shows that between the years 2005 and 2022, forest lands and riparian woodlands declined by 85.88% and 51.56% respectively while agricultural lands, settlement, and waterbody increased by 39.65%, 573.51%, and 1758.9% respectively. By employing a sustainable rural livelihood approach, the study also assessed the livelihood assets status of the sample households. Thus, livelihoods were assessed through the selected livelihood indicators of each livelihood asset derived from the data gathered through household surveys. The change in land use land cover types utilized by the communities before the Gibe III dam caused a significant difference in all livelihood assets except human capital. A paired sample t-test was conducted to compare the mean scores of overall livelihood assets of respondents before dam construction (M = 0.802, SD = 0.124) and after dam construction (M = 0.765, SD = 0.176). The results revealed a significant difference between the two groups, t (120) = 3.763, p = .0026. The livelihood assets before the Gibe III dam scored significantly higher than after the Gibe III dam construction. The effect size was moderate (Cohen’s d = 0.34). To reduce this impact, it is better to conduct the livelihood enhancing plan targeted at enhancing the relationship between land use and rural livelihood through execution of land-use plan and training on how to manage financial capital and promoting awareness creation on better utilization of land and land-related resources that can bring about better access to livelihood assets.