Environmental Impact of Wetland Resources Utilization in Simuyu Basin, Tanzania

here is a growing appreciation of the natural functions of wetlands, and the values and different forms of uses that humans attach to them.Wise use and special conservation strategies are therefore needed in order to sustain their productivity.Wetlands are one of the most fruitful areas of archaeological research, and they are the ideal setting in which to study the interactions between physical processes and human actions that encapsulate and exemplify many of the themes of man's impact on his environment.But all these beneficial functions of wetlands seem to be in danger of being lost to draining and in-filling.This paper attempts to address how the Geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing techniques could be used to unveil land use patterns that have resulted in degradation of the wetlands in Simuyu basin in Tanzania.The analyses drawn upon the use of remote sensing data for assessment of wetland resources: land, forestry, agriculture settlement, grazing, and wetland management, and highlight the physical and technical characteristics of the resource.Landsat images used for vegetation mapping and land cover change study were at a temporal scale of a 10-year interval from 1973.1973, 1985, 1995, and 2005.Landsat satellite images were used to inform landscape qualities over broad areas under the study area.The satellite sensors being used cover the visible and infra-red (VIR) spectrum up to the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum and are being based on a single sensor approach or sensor combination that fulfills a minimum requirement for practical land cover mapping and inventory purposes (e.g.forest and non-forest areas, wetland and dryland, varying land use density, dominant species (crop) composition, flood prone areas and impact of human activities).Both the technical capabilities and the potentials of the data are presented in correlation with the existing ground conditions.