Application of FAO/UNEP Land Cover Classification System (LCCS) for study of land cover dynamics in SNPBZ (Nepal)

Changes in land cover and land use are among the most important drivers which significantly act on key aspects of Earth System functioning when aggregated globally. Land cover dynamics is an important aspect that will provide valuable insight on the evolution and changes occurring in the ecosystems. The HKKH Partnership Project has given due priority to developing land cover data in SNP, CKNP and QNP, the three protected areas where the project is currently working. As one of the project partners, ICIMOD is taking on this activity with a major focus adopting international standards such as FAO/UNEP LCCS in developing land cover legends. Workshops were organized involving all the relevant stakeholders who contributed in developing the legends. The land cover maps are generated using different satellite images such as IKONOS, LandSat TM and LandSat ETM+ and IRS LISS3 supplemented by a number of field missions. The generation of land cover data is expected to cover a major data gap in these areas and the temporal analysis will provide many important information on socio-ecological processes.