Land use land cover change and socio-economic activities in the Burunge Wildlife Management Area ecosystem during COVID-19.

Land use land cover change (LULCC) is among the major factors affecting the natural environment worldwide. Studying LULCC is essential as it contributes to natural resource management, biodiversity conservation, and land use planning, especially during pandemics such as COVID-19. This study aimed at assessing the trend (1995-2021) and magnitude of LULCC in the Burunge WMA ecosystem before (2015-2018) and during COVID-19 (2018-2021). The data on LULCC were collected from the satellite imagery on the USGS website, whereas the data on perceptions of local communities on LULCC from Mwada, Kakoi and Maweni villages were collected through a household questionnaire survey (HQS) of 445 randomly sampled households, focused group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs). Quantitative data were analyzed using MS Excel 2019, R software (2022.02.0 + 443) and ArcGIS (Version 10.8). Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis techniques. The findings indicated a fluctuation in agriculture, forest, and water coverage. For instance, agriculture and settlements increased significantly by 23.91% in 2015-2021 and 5.71% in 1995-2005 respectively, whereas forested land showed a maximum increase of 7.33% in 1995-2005. However, there was a pronounced increase in agricultural lands (3.99%) during the COVID-19 phase as compared to the same time frame before the pandemic. Local communities pointed to agriculture and settlements as the major activities contributing to LULCC. The findings show significant LULCC in Burunge WMA which calls for special attention from responsible authorities and other stakeholders for the achievement of biodiversity conservation and the development of livelihoods in the area.