Urban Conversions of Farming Lands

Urban growth often occurs at the expense of farming lands or other land use types such as forests, shrublands, or deserts, which are known to provide higher level of ecosystem services. As urbanization is sweeping across the world, including the foothills of Himalaya, much is unknown about the patterns of changes and their implications on fragile mountain ecosystems. Focusing mostly on the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal (and other mountain cities), this research seeks to unravel the complexity associated with urban conversions of farming lands in the Himalayan region.

Publications

Ishtiaque, A., Shrestha, M., & Chhetri, N. 2017. Rapid Urban Growth in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal: Monitoring Land Use Land Cover Dynamics of a Himalayan City with Landsat Imageries. Environments, 4(4), 72. doi:10.3390/environments4040072