Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Rapid change in land use land cover (LULC) and forest loss have become major environmental challenges. Dibrugarh -nestled in the eastern corner of Assam globally renowned as the “Tea city of India” and has recently been declared state’s second capital experiencing constant LULC change (LULCC) and forest loss in recent decades. This study analyses spatiotemporal LULCC dynamics, quantification of forest cover loss and anthropogenic drivers of forest decline in Dibrugarh district, from 2000 to 2023 using geospatial tools. Landsat TM and Sentinel 2 satellite imageries were used for 2000 and 2023 respectively considering eleven LULC classes and accuracy accessed via overall accuracy and Kappa statistics. Post-classification comparison was done to analyse the LULC changes. Anthropogenic drivers were identified from field observations, key informant interviews, focus groups discussions, published statistics and spatial overlay analysis. Classified maps showed high accuracy (96% -overall and 0.9554 -Kappa) confirming reliability. Urban built-up areas, agriculture, agri-plantation/ settlement rose from 0.96 to 1.26%, 46.87 to 47.35%, 17.39 to 17.67% respectively and forest cover decline from 11.86% to 11.05% between 2000 and 2023 indicating rapid urban and agricultural expansion. Dibrugarh City and industrial towns like Duliajan and Namrup witnessed steady urban growth. Tea plantation areas rose from 15.84 to 16.48% -one of the major drivers of forest loss in the district. Agricultural expansion especially increasing areas under tea cultivation, urban and industrial growth, cityward human migration, infrastructural and developmental activities were identified as prime anthropogenic drivers of forest loss with underlying drivers like population explosion, limited livelihood sources, poverty, weak governance, and lack of environmental awareness. Urban landscape of the Dibrugarh City has changed rapidly in recent decades and forest loss in the whole district has intensified. It therefore requires a consolidated town planning, implementation of proper land use and forest policies, strong governance, forest restoration and grassroots level environmental awareness.</p>