Quantifying Carbon and Monetary Values of Land Use Changes at Blue  Nile River Millennium Park, BAHIR-DAR, ETHIOPIA

Mr. ALIXANDER, SEBHATU

dc.contributor.author	Mr. ALIXANDER, SEBHATU
dc.date.accessioned	2024-04-03T13:39:56Z
dc.date.available	2024-04-03T13:39:56Z
dc.date.issued	2023-06
dc.identifier.uri	http://ir.bdu.edu.et/handle/123456789/15757
dc.description.abstract	Quantifying and valuing carbon stocks across land use changes is crucial for the successful implementation of climate change mitigation policies. As ecosystems continue to be depleted worldwide, parks and wetlands are becoming increasingly important for global ecosystem conservation efforts. These fragile environments are highly sensitive to resource exhaustion and require immediate action to protect them. The Blue Nile Park is an ecosystem hotspot area that has not been handled scientifically, and it is necessary to quantify its carbon stock potential and monetary value across land use changes. The study used the Carbon InVEST model and QGIS versions 2.18.15 & 3.16.2 to map, value, and predict each land use land cover (LULC) carbon stock potential. The different LULC types of the park area were identified, and their carbon stock potentials were determined based on bublished researches. Field inventories were used to determine the above and below ground forest carbon stock potential. The study found that grazing lands and agricultural lands were the major land use types in the park area, accounting for 28.97% and 26.89% of the parking area, respectively. Forest land, wetlands, agricultural lands, built-ups, and water bodies were among the other LULC types identified. Forest land had the highest rate of loss at 23.15%, while grazing land had the highest gain rate at 29.55%. The study projected a forest/vegetation change rate of 14.25%, for 2021-2035. The built-up and wetland areas are expected to decline in the same period. Despite the increase in forest cover, the aggressive expansion of invasive species like Lantana Camara and Eucalyptus trees may degrade the park's indigenous tree species. The study found that that the total carbon stock potential of the park was 1,007,248,559 Mg of c per m2 with a value of 2,653,976,400 US dollars under the REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) scenario. on the otherside in "business as usual" scenario, the total carbon stock was 850,197,543 Mg, with a value of 299,948,978.75 US dollars by 2035. The study concludes that land use change matters in carbon stock potential values and highlights the importance of putting carbon trade mechanisms in place to sustain the park's ecosystem potential. However, further studies should be conducted regarding species richness and biodiversity potential assessments to clarify the impacts of invasive species over it. Key words: Carbon, InVEST software, REDD, GIS, Remote sensing, Forest, wetlan	en_US
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.subject	Geography and Environmental Studies	en_US
dc.title	Quantifying Carbon and Monetary Values of Land Use Changes at Blue Nile River Millennium Park, BAHIR-DAR, ETHIOPIA	en_US
dc.type	Thesis	en_US