Abstract:
Land use conflict identification is a prerequisite to achieve optimum utilization of the available
land uses for sustainable urban development. The Land Use Conflict Identification Strategy
(LUCIS) that employs suitability modeling to identify areas where land use conflict is likely to
occur hence, the aim of this study is to identify potential land use conflict area using GIS and
Remote sensing technology in the Hosanna Town mainly by considering the physical and socioeconomic features. All criteria/factor maps used in the analysis would be geo-referenced,
converted in to raster format, and reclassified according to their suitability classes in ArcGIS
environment. After the reclassification process, weights are assigned for each criterion based on
AHP model using pairwise comparison matrix. To end, all standardized criteria would be
combined together to perform weighted overlay analysis so as to obtain the potential suitable land
use and finally LUCIS model was applied to produce potential conflict between land use. The
results of LUCIS Model analysis shows that out of total area coverage of Hosanna Town
respectively No potential conflict and preferred for conservation land use 9,805.8 ha (9.8%);No
potential conflict and preferred for urban land use 20,712.6 ha (20.7%);No potential conflict and
preferred for agricultural land use 19,011.6 ha (19%);Potential conflict between urban and
conservation land use preference 7,204.4 ha (7.2%);Potential conflict between urban and
agricultural land use preference 16,610.13 ha (16.6%);Potential conflict between agricultural and
conservation land use preference 9,005.5 ha (9%) and Potential conflict among all land use
preferences 17,710.8 ha (17.7%).The results obtained respond to a situation expected for a region
with a great regional dynamics. The study area occurs in a region with a trend of steady population
increase that has resulted in conversion of lands with conservation and agricultural importance
to urban use. Overall, the results suggest that there was considerable conflict among the three
basic land use classifications, but particularly between urban and agricultural land uses. LUCIS
results have the potential to be used in at least three ways including decision support for local or
regional planning activities, environmental regulation, or population modeling including
representations of alternative futures.
