Assessment of land use change in the wetland of Barotse Floodplain, Zambezi River Sub-Basin, Zambia

River floodplains such as the Barotse Flood Plain (BFP) in Western Zambia, provide a large number of ecosystem services and economic value for the inhabitants. Yet, in spite of its importance, the Floodplain has been vulnerable to land use change threatening wetland degradation albeit it being a Ramsar Cultural Heritage Site. This study aimed at determining the extent of land use change in the wetland of BFP in the selected years between 1980 and 2020 using Landsat data, then identifying and assessing drivers of land use change using survey data sets. In this study we hypothesized to determine the past and present status and change drivers of unprotected wetlands using a hybrid approach to help guide environment managers on the conservation of wetlands in a holistic manner. It also measured the relationship between drivers of land use change and observed land use changes pattern in the wetland of BFP. The study used an integrated research approach that involved utilizing combined methods of data collection and analysis. Both secondary and primary data sources were used. Primary data was collected using interview schedule, key informants’ interviews, Participatory Rural Appraisal and field observations. The Raosoft random sample calculator was used to determine the sample size of heads of households from 9 districts within the margins of Barotse Floodplain. Then, a proportional sample size per district of 270 was calculated. The study found that there was an average land use change of 24.3% and 0.78 annual change rate in the wetland of BFP in the years of 1984, 1996, 2004 and 2015. The land use classes annual change rates between 1984 and 2015 were: forest/woody vegetation (0.32), grassland (0.07), water (0.02), annually flooded land (0.11) and bare land (0.26). The delineated land cover area classes (forest/woody vegetation, grassland, water, annually flooded land and bare land) have been reducing except for bare land that was increasing in areal coverage. Water class had the greatest negative percentage change (decrease) of 0.04 between 1984 and 2015. While the class of bare land class had greatest positive change (increase) of 8.3 percent in the period of 1984 and 2015. It was found that from 1990 to 2016, there was precipitation variation the years between 1981 and 2016 where the lowest was 571.7 mm in 2016, highest 1 579 mm in 2008 and the average amount of rainfall in the same period was 879.5 mm. Therefore, in some years there was excessive rainfall and scant rainfall in other years, which affected hydrology in the wetland and consequently affecting its ecosystem functions. The study found that land use change was driven by climate variability (48.5%), infrastructure development (20.7%), technology (7.8%), demography (18.5%), and agriculture (4.4%) using an integrated approach. Other land use changes such as the construction of a road bridge across the floodplain have contributed to wetland deterioration. The study further found that there was a relationship of 0.266 between driving forces of land use change and observed land use changes pattern. Therefore, the study demonstrated and provided new data that indicated the extent of land use change and its drivers using integrated research approach. The study recommends strategies such as environmental education and land use planning to resolve the problem of land use changes, in order to contribute to sustainable wetland management.