Land Use and Land Cover changes that occurred fro~ 1973 to 2003 in East Estie district was monitored using remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) with field verifications. The study was conducted in 142,787 hectare of land within South Gondar of the Amhara region. The ,study area is a reflection of the Ethiopian highlands in many ... ways because land de~dation, deforestation, land fragmentation, steep slope cultivation are also common featuitis in the study area. These problems have been the driving forces to Land Use and Land Cover changes in many parts of Ethiopia. " The objective of this study is to understand the dynamics of Land Use and Land Cover J, change in East Estie district. Three remotely sensed data landsat MSS (1973),landsat TM(1985) and Landsat ETM+ imagery (2003), with a time span of thirty years were used for the study. In addition, socio-economic characteristics of households were also used to inteij?ret the biophysical feature occurring in the study area. Results from land cover change analysis show agricultural land increased from 51 % in .. 1973 to 53% in 1985 and 58% in 2003. The increase in agricultural land in three decades was mainly at the expense of the grazing land and forest. At the same time, grazing land decreased from 26% in 1973 t021 % in 1985 and 24% in 2003. In similar way forest decrease from 5% in 1973 to 25 in 1985 and 1% .in 2003. This figure shows the destruction of forest and the drastic land cover change. Unless .remedial actions are taken, the problems will be out of hand and will endanger the overall environment of the area. In addition, 47.7% of the total sampled household members are illiterate, the other 37.2%) are able to read and write, while the remaining few numbers 15.4% had participated in formal education. As the situation continued number of children who become illiterate farmers will increase and hence land fragmentation will further aggravate encroachment on to the hills and mountains.If current trends are allowed to continue fuel wood will become far below the minimum requirements in the study area. On the other hand, damage to the natural resource base will continue and land lost due soil erosion will increase. In addition, as a result of low I vegetative cover, land degradation will further be aggravated. ~. Therefore selecting appropriate land use systems that are suitable to the conditions of the "- study area will be important. Giving land use rights to individuals landless for planting trees on hilly are<l$ could contribute to this effect. This will contribute to the conservation ofnatural resources ~well as the betterment oflivelihoods. In addition, identification of alternative sources of energy could help to minimize the " destruction ofnatural resources. ..... Along with all these efforts however, education of households about the impacts of population increase is essential. Strong family planning and sex education should also go hand in hand with these efforts.

A T.hesis Submitted to the School ofGraduate Studies OfBahir Dar University, in Partialfulfillment ofthe Requirements for the Degree of ~ Ai/aster ofArts in Geography and Environmental Studies