Title: Effect of land-use/land-cover change on the future of rainfed agriculture in the Jenin Governorate, Palestine

Authors: Salem Thawaba; Maher Abu-Madi; Gül Özerol

Addresses: Department of Architectural Engineering, Birzeit University, Palestine ' Institute of Environmental and Water Studies, Birzeit University, Palestine ' CSTM – Department of Governance and Technology for Sustainability, Institute for Innovation and Governance Studies, University of Twente, The Netherlands

Abstract: Land cover has been changed by humans throughout history. At the global level, population growth and socio-economic development have a significant impact on land resources. Recently, scholars added climate change as one of the major factors affecting land-cover transformation. In the West Bank of Palestine, the situation is more complicated, where geopolitical constraints due to the Israeli occupation and lack of control over land resources. In the West Bank, fertile land represents 16%, 87% of the cultivated land is rainfed, 11% is pastureland and 2% is irrigated. This paper focuses on the problems of agricultural land shrinkage by time and tries to reveal the major factors behind this change. The study area is Jenin, a major agricultural area in the West Bank, Palestine. Statistical data, aerial photos and related attribute data were analysed by using GIS software. The study showed that urban growth is the major threat on agricultural lands.

Keywords: GIS; geographic information systems; climate change; land cover; land use; rainfed agriculture; water resources; Jenin Governorate; Palestine; geopolitical constraints; agricultural land shrinkage; urban growth.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGENVI.2017.083428

International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 2017 Vol.16 No.1/2/3, pp.176 - 189

Received: 06 Aug 2016
Accepted: 03 Sep 2016
Published online: 29 Mar 2017 *

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