Analysis of land use change in Comayagua County, Honduras, based on remote sensing and field survey data

Abstract

This paper aims at evaluating the agricultural land use changes occurring during a 14 year-period (1987 to 2001) in Comayagua County, Honduras, through the use of Remote Sensing and field survey data. Since lack of statistical data constitutes the main constraint to perform such evaluation in Honduras, remote sensed data of Landsat TM (Thematic Mapper) and ETM+(Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus) were used to perform imagery analysis on land use change for the periods 1987, 1994 and 2001. Moreover, paying attention to the detected land use change patterns, a field survey was conducted to study the agricultural policies implemented and farmers’ characteristics, and based on those results an analysis regarding the factors influencing land use change was carried out. Results indicate that during the study period, changes in agricultural policies led to cropland expansion and conversion from traditional crops such as maize, beans and livestock farming to high value crops centered on vegetables for export. Parallel to this process, concerns such as immigration from less developed areas, forest clearing, increasing shifting agriculture and land abandonment also took place. The evaluation suggests that when policies are implemented to promote agricultural production and exports, there should be at the same time strengthening of policies on resource management to prevent deforestation and land abandonment, and ensure agricultural sustainability.