Dramatic Loss of Agricultural Land Due to Urban Expansion Threatens Food Security in the Nile Delta, Egypt

Egypt has one of the largest and fastest growing populations in the world. However, nearly 96% of the total land area is uninhabited desert and 96% of the population is concentrated around the River Nile valley and the Delta. This unbalanced distribution and dramatically rising population have caused severe socio-economic problems. In this research, 24 land use/land cover (LULC) maps from 1992 to 2015 were used to monitor LULC changes in the Nile Delta and quantify the rates and types of LULC transitions. The results show that 74,600 hectares of fertile agricultural land in the Nile Delta (Old Lands) was lost to urban expansion over the 24 year period at an average rate of 3,108 ha year-1, whilst 206,100 hectares of bare land was converted to agricultural land (New Lands) at an average rate of 8,588 ha year-1. A Cellular Automata-Markov (CA-Markov) integrated model was used to simulate future alternative LULC change scenarios. Under a Business as Usual scenario, 87,000 hectares of land transitioned from agricultural land to urban areas by 2030, posing a threat to the agricultural sector sustainability and food security in Egypt. Three alternative future scenarios were developed to promote urban development elsewhere, hence, with potential to preserve the fertile soils of the Nile Delta. A scenario which permitted urban expansion into the desert only preserved the largest amount of agricultural land in the Nile Delta. However, a scenario that encouraged urban expansion into the desert and adjacent to areas of existing high population density resulted in almost the same area of agricultural land being preserved. The alternative future scenarios are valuable for supporting policy development and planning decisions in Egypt and demonstrating that continued urban development is possible while minimising the threats to environmental sustainability and national food security.

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Urban farming: implementation of prisoner guidance in an effort to support food security towards Rutan Boyolali productive

IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science ◽

10.1088/1755-1315/905/1/012084 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 905 (1) ◽

pp. 012084

Author(s):

A Listiana ◽

Pawito ◽

S Hastjarjo

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Urban Development ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

The Other ◽

Agricultural Activities ◽

Correctional Institutions ◽

Urban Farming ◽

Social Reintegration ◽

Food Needs

Abstract Rutan Boyolali is an institution that organizes guidance activities for prisoners as a social reintegration process. The guidance that is carried out recently leads to a productive one. One of the efforts to realize the productive correctional institutions can be done through agricultural activities. However, the location of the correctional institutions that are in the middle of urban areas faced the challenge of limited agricultural land. One of the solutions is to carry out the concept of urban farming. Through urban farming, it is hoped that prisoners can become skilled and ready to work when they are free. This concept also can be an innovation and solution in overcoming various problems in prisons. On the other hand, the benefits of urban farming are maintaining food security. The rate of urban development eliminates agricultural land and results in cities no longer being able to meet their food needs independently.

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Modeling Urban Encroachment on the Agricultural Land of the Eastern Nile Delta Using Remote Sensing and a GIS-Based Markov Chain Model

Land ◽

10.3390/land7040114 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. 114 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Kelsee Bratley ◽

Eman Ghoneim

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Markov Chain ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Nile Delta ◽

Markov Chain Model ◽

Urban Expansion ◽

Chain Model ◽

Agricultural Lands ◽

Area At Risk

Historically, the Nile Delta has played an integral part in Egyptian civilization, as its fertile soils have been cultivated for centuries. The region offers a lush oasis among the expansive arid climate of Northern Africa; however, in recent decades, many anthropogenic changes to the environment have jeopardized Egypt’s agricultural productivity. Political instability and lack of sufficient regulations regarding urban growth and encroachment have put agricultural land in the area at risk. Advanced geospatial techniques were used to assess the rate at which urban areas are increasing within the region. A hybrid classification of Landsat satellite imagery for the eastern sector of the Nile Delta, between the years 1988 and 2017, was conducted to map major land-use and land-cover (LULC) classes. The statistical change analysis revealed that urban areas increased by 222.5% over the study period (29 years). Results indicated that urban areas are encroaching mainly on established agricultural lands within the Nile Delta. Most of the change has occurred within the past nine years, where approximately 235.60 km2 of the cultivated lands were transitioned to urban. Nonetheless, at the eastern delta flank, which is bordered by desert, analysis indicated that agricultural lands have experienced a considerable growth throughout the study period due to a major desert reclamation effort. Areas most at risk from future urban expansion were identified. A simulation of future urban expansion, using a Markov Chain algorithm, indicated that the extent to which urban area is simulated to grow in the region is 16.67% (277.3 km2) and 37.82% (843 km2) by the year 2026, and 2050, respectively. The methods used in this study are useful in assessing the rate of urban encroachment on agricultural lands and can be applied to similar at-risk areas in the regions if appropriate site-specific modifications are considered.

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Spatial-Temporal Land Use and Land Cover Changes in Urban Areas Using Remote Sensing Images and GIS Analysis: The Case Study of Opole, Poland

Geosciences ◽

10.3390/geosciences11080312 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 312

Author(s):

Barbara Wiatkowska ◽

Janusz Słodczyk ◽

Aleksandra Stokowska

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Land Use ◽

Land Cover ◽

Satellite Imagery ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Urban Expansion ◽

Landsat 8 ◽

Rate Of Increase ◽

Management Procedures

Urban expansion is a dynamic and complex phenomenon, often involving adverse changes in land use and land cover (LULC). This paper uses satellite imagery from Landsat-5 TM, Landsat-8 OLI, Sentinel-2 MSI, and GIS technology to analyse LULC changes in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020. The research was carried out in Opole, the capital of the Opole Agglomeration (south-western Poland). Maps produced from supervised spectral classification of remote sensing data revealed that in 20 years, built-up areas have increased about 40%, mainly at the expense of agricultural land. Detection of changes in the spatial pattern of LULC showed that the highest average rate of increase in built-up areas occurred in the zone 3–6 km (11.7%) and above 6 km (10.4%) from the centre of Opole. The analysis of the increase of built-up land in relation to the decreasing population (SDG 11.3.1) has confirmed the ongoing process of demographic suburbanisation. The paper shows that satellite imagery and GIS can be a valuable tool for local authorities and planners to monitor the scale of urbanisation processes for the purpose of adapting space management procedures to the changing environment.

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The impact of urbanization expansion on agricultural land in Ethiopia: A review

Environmental & Socio-economic Studies ◽

10.2478/environ-2020-0024 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 73-80

Author(s):

Assefa Ayele ◽

Kassa Tarekegn

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Urban Expansion ◽

Rural Livelihoods ◽

Vital Role ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

Economic Resource ◽

House Construction ◽

Impact Of Urbanization ◽

The Impact

AbstractIn a country like Ethiopia where the vast majority of the populations are employed in agriculture, land is an important economic resource for the development of rural livelihoods. Agricultural land in peri-urban areas is, however, transformed into built-up regions through horizontal urban expansion that has an effect on land use value. In recent years Ethiopia has been experiencing rapid urbanization, which has led to an ever-increasing demand for land in peri-urban areas for housing and other nonagricultural activities that pervades agricultural land. There is a high demand for informal and illegal peri-urban land which has been held by peri-urban farmers, and this plays a vital role in the unauthorized and sub-standard house construction on agricultural land. This urbanization has not been extensively reviewed and documented. In this review an attempt has been made to assess the impacts of rapid urbanization on agricultural activities. Urban expansion has reduced the areas available for agriculture, which has seriously impacted upon peri-urban farmers that are often left with little or no land to cultivate and which has increased their vulnerability. Housing encroachments have been observed to be uncontrolled due to a weak government response to the trend of unplanned city expansion. This has left peri-urban farmers exposed to the negative shocks of urbanization because significant urbanization-related agricultural land loss has a positive correlation with grain production decrease. Appropriate governing bodies should control urban development in order to control the illegal and informal spread of urbanization on agricultural land that threatens food production.

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Urban Agriculture: Search for Agricultural Practice in Urbanized Rural Areas

Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology ◽

10.24925/turjaf.v5i12.1461-1469.1432 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 (12) ◽

pp. 1461

Author(s):

Celile Özçiçek Dölekoğlu ◽

Sema Gün

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Urban Agriculture ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Environmental Benefits ◽

Agricultural Practice ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

The World ◽

The One

Rapid urbanization in developing countries involves unplanned migration, unemployment and poverty. The steady shrinking of rural areas and the use of agricultural land for other purposes are progressively increasing the pressure on natural resources. This development on the one hand increases the risk to food security, and on the other triggers climate change. The rural population who migrate to the cities or who are absorbed into urban areas continue their agricultural activities in the urban in order to provide themselves with an income or to maintain their food security. In the big cities of the developed world, contact with nature is kept by means of hobby gardens, recreational areas and urban and suburban plant and animal farming, and creative ideas such as roof gardens can be found. This development, known as urban agriculture, is practiced by 800 million people in the world. Urban agriculture has many economic, social and environmental benefits, but it may also have risks and adverse effects. In this study, the developments in this area in Turkey and the world are presented, and all aspects of its effects and outcomes are discussed.

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Big Science, Ethics, and the Scalar Effects of Urban Planning

Urban Planning ◽

10.17645/up.v5i4.3289 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 217-226

Author(s):

Sandra Kopljar

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Urban Development ◽

Large Scale ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Materials Science ◽

Urban Expansion ◽

Sustainable Urban Development ◽

Planning Strategy ◽

Urban Level ◽

Research Facilities

The urban expansion currently under development around the two materials science facilities MAX IV and European Spallation Source in Lund, Sweden, surrounds two meticulously designed research facilities steered by global demands. The new urban area, together with the research facilities dedicated to science and the development of knowledge, expands the city of Lund onto high-quality agricultural land. In doing so, the municipal planning is attempting to align contemporary ideas of sustainable urban development with large-scale scientific infrastructure. This actualizes an ethical dilemma as the urban expansion onto productive agricultural land overrides previous decisions taken by the municipality regarding land use. It can also be understood as going against national land use policy which states that development on productive agricultural land should be avoided. As the planning stands today, the research facilities heavily push local urban development into the area while the intended research outcomes primarily relate to a global research community tied to international scientific demands for materials science. Although the Brunnshög area is realized through a neutralizing planning strategy, thought to balance and compensate for the development on farmland, the effects of the counterbalancing acts are primarily played out at a local urban level in terms of diverse, exciting, and locally sustainable neighbourhoods. The land use protection policies meant to secure national food production rather operates on a national scale. The argument made in this text is that sustainable development, and the intended balancing acts it involves, ought to be carefully considered in terms of scalar effects. Sustainable planning effects’ scalar extent should be taken into account through careful assessment of the step between good intentions and expected outcomes.

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Geospatial Analysis of Agriculture Land Loss in Qena City, Upper Egypt

International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research ◽

10.4018/ijagr.2021100103 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 40-57

Author(s):

Mostafa Kamal Kamel Mosleh ◽

Khaled Mohmmad Amin Hazaymeh

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Urban Expansion ◽

Support Vector ◽

Land Loss ◽

Landsat Images ◽

Index Set ◽

Upper Egypt ◽

Agriculture Land ◽

Local Decision

Although urbanization presents opportunities for new urban developments, it may have serious problems on environment and land use/cover patterns. The present study aims to evaluate the performance of built‑up delineation index set (BDIS) for mapping agricultural land loss in Upper Egypt. Three Landsat images were obtained for the years 1986, 2000, and 2016 and utilized as inputs to calculate the BDIS variables. Then a supervised classification technique (i.e., support vector machine) was used to classify the images. The findings showed that urban areas have witnessed a dramatic expansion at a growing rate of 44.1% during the 30 years. As a result, the loss of the agricultural land was found to be approximately 64.83 ha, which represents -4%, during the same period because of the urban expansion and the illegal construction of settlements. These findings would support the local decision makers in urban and agriculture land management authorities to develop sustainable development plans that control the spatiotemporal urban expansion and agricultural land loss.

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URBANISATION AND THE CONCERNS FOR FOOD SECURITY IN MALAYSIA

PLANNING MALAYSIA JOURNAL ◽

10.21837/pm.v18i13.786 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (13) ◽

Author(s):

Azizan Marzuki ◽

Ahmad Sahir Jais

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Food Security ◽

Urban Sprawl ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Relevant Literature ◽

Secondary Data ◽

Study Data ◽

Self Sufficiency ◽

Food Imports

Urbanization is an effect of population growth. Increasing population contributed to the expanding of urban areas as cities try to accommodate more people within a minimal landscape. Urbanization takes up valuable land, sometimes productive agricultural land that feeds the population. The objectives of this paper are to investigate the connection between urban sprawl and its impact on agricultural productivity, and ultimately whether it affects food security in Malaysia. For this qualitative exploratory review exercise, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of secondary data was employed as the base for this study. Data mining techniques were used to gather relevant literature that included archival data, academic writings, and publications. The data are then dissected, analysed, and clustered using Atlas ti 8 software, focusing on thematic analysis. Urbanisation did affect the self-sufficiency level (SSL) of Malaysian food security, especially on landintensive food products such as vegetables and livestock. Recent government initiatives such as urban farming, land use policies were promoted to reduce the differences in food imports, ensuring Malaysian food security to be at an acceptable level. Significant development of this population dense proximity has created urban sprawl beyond the city limits, taking up valuable land space. Land-use conversion from agricultural land in Malaysia has been studied regarding its adverse effects on agricultural production. Urbanization therefore does affect food security through the land conversion of agricultural lands.

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Ketahanan Pangan Berkelanjutan di Kabupaten Sukoharjo

JURNAL GEOGRAFI ◽

10.24114/jg.v10i1.8493 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 86

Author(s):

Mohammad Isnaini Sadali

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Food Security ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Urban Development ◽

Regional Development ◽

Carrying Capacity ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

A Value ◽

Food Needs ◽

Main City

AbstrakKabupaten Sukoharjo merupakan kota satelit yang memberi daya dukung bagi kota utamanya (Kota Solo). Pembangunan Kawasan Solo Baru dan Kartasuro sebagai kota satelit mandiri dengan konsep permukiman yang didukung oleh ketersediaan fasilitas penunjang akan berimbas pada perubahan pemanfaatan lahan. Kabupaten Sukoharjo sebagai salah satu lumbung beras nasional justru perlu diperhatikan dan dijaga. Keberadaan lahan pertanian (pangan) di Kabupaten Sukoharjo menjadi terancam oleh intensitas pembangunan kota yang mengarah pada alih fungsi lahan non terbangun (lahan pertanian) menjadi terbangun. Penelitian ini bertujuan: (1) menganalisis kebutuhan dan ketersediaan pangan, (2) menganalisis daya dukung (Carrying Capacity) lahan pertanian dalam mendukung ketahanan pangan, dan (3) melakukan estimasi kebutuhan lahan pertanian pangan di Kabupaten Sukoharjo. Sebesar 44,16% (20.617 ha) lahan di Sukoharjo diperuntukkan untuk sawah. Daya dukung pangan secara keseluruhan di Kabupaten Sukoharjo mampu tercukupi ditunjukkan dengan nilai 1,62 yang berarti bahwa kebutuhan pangan mampu dicukupi dengan luas lahan pertanian dan produksi padi yang dihasilkan saat ini. Kebutuhan lahan pertanian pangan berkelanjutan (KLP2B) menurut kecamatan di Kabupaten Sukoharjo yang masih belum dapat dipenuhi kebutuhan pangan di wilayahnya adalah Kecamatan Kartasura. Hingga 20 tahun ke depan (2031), KLP2B yang tinggi di Kabupaten Sukoharjo masih berada di Kecamatan Grogol, Kecamatan Kartosuro, Kecamatan Mojolaban dan Kecamatan Sukoharjo.Kata kunci: ketahanan pangan, daya dukung, pembangunan wilayah AbstractSukoharjo Regency is a satellite city that provides support for its main city (Solo City). The development of Solo Baru and Kartasuro areas as self-contained satellite cities with the concept of settlements supported by the availability of supporting facilities will impact on land use change. Sukoharjo Regency as one of the national rice granary precisely needs to be considered and maintained. The existence of agricultural land (food) in Sukoharjo Regency becomes threatened by the intensity of urban development that leads to the conversion of non-built land (agricultural land) to be built. This study aims to: (1) analyze the need and availability of food, (2) analyze the carrying capacity of agricultural land in supporting food security, and (3) estimate the needs of food agriculture land in Sukoharjo Regency. A total of 44.16% (20,617 ha) of land in Sukoharjo is reserved for rice fields. The food carrying capacity in Sukoharjo Regency as a whole is sufficiently indicated by a value of 1.62 which means that food needs can be satisfied with the existing area of agricultural land and rice production. The need for sustainable agricultural land (KLP2B) in Sukoharjo Regency that has not been fulfilled by the needs of food in its area is Kartasura District. Until the next 20 years (2031), high KLP2B in Sukoharjo Regency is still in Grogol District, Kartosuro District, Mojolaban District and Sukoharjo District.Keywords: food security, carrying capacity, regional development

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The impact of two decades of land-use changes in potential ecosystem services supply in a Portuguese municipality - Coimbra

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-1291 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Inês Amorim Leitão ◽

Carla Sofia Santos Ferreira ◽

António José Dinis Ferreira

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Urban Expansion ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Qualitative Evaluation ◽

Well Being ◽

Positive Potential ◽

The Impact

Land-use changes affect the properties of ecosystems, and are typically associated with decreasing ability to supply services, which in turn causes a decrease in the social well-being. Urbanization is identified as one of the main causes of ecosystem degradation, once it is considered an artificial space that replaces natural areas.This study investigates the impact of land-use changes during 20 years (1995-2015) on the potential supply of ecosystem services in Coimbra municipality, central Portugal. The assessment was based on the evaluation performed by 31 experts familiar with the study area, through questionnaires. The experts ranked the potential supply of 31 ecosystem services, grouped in regulation, provisioning and cultural services, for the several land-uses existent. Experts performed a qualitative evaluation, considering &#8216;strong adverse potential&#8217;, &#8216;weak adverse potential&#8217;, &#8216;not relevant&#8217;, &#8216;low positive potential&#8217; and &#8216;strong positive potential&#8217;. The qualitative evaluation was converted into a quantitative classification (-2, -1, 0, 1, 2). Quantitative values were then used to develop an ecosystem services quantification matrix and to map the information in the study area, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). An urban expansion from 14% to 18% was recorded over the last 20 years. Agricultural land decreased 8% due to conversion into forest (4% increase) and urban areas (4% increase). This has led to a decrease in the supply of provision (e.g. food) and regulation services (e.g. flood regulation). In fact, over the last years, recurrent floods have been increasingly noticed in Coimbra city. On the other hand, the growth of forest areas has led to an increase in general ESs supply. The adverse impacts of urbanization were partially compensated by enlarging the benefits provided by forest areas, which is the land-use with greatest ESs potential supply. In order to support urban planning and develop sustainable cities, it is essential to quantify the potential supply of ecosystem services considering local scale and characteristics.

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