Urban growth assessment in the Northeastern region of Bangladesh for sustainable landscape management and conservation

Land use and land cover change are regarded as vital ingredients to evaluate suitable and sustainable forecasting tools for ecological balance on earth to planners and policymakers. This paper investigated land-use changes in the Northeastern region of Bangladesh, a region with diverse landscapes and bio-cultural heritage, using Landsat images from 1987 to 2017 with 10 years interval. Our results showed that 242.79% expansion of built-up lands and 39.65% reduction of tree cover, which was alarming and quite dominant between 1987 and 2017. Over the last three decades, 18.38% of non-tree vegetation increased while water, seasonal cropland, and bare land were decreased by 14.67%, 11.46%, and 35.75%, respectively, which indicates that the loss of cropland is linked with expansion of urban growth or built-up area. For the sustainability of concurrent natural ecosystem and proper conservation of its remnant biodiversity, a long-term land management plan should be undertaken demarking clear land zoning with full involvement of the government (i.e., Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change) and allied non-government agencies.