Abstract—The present study utilized remote sensing data to analyze land use changes in Kanera watershed of Guna district, Madhya Pradesh, Central India, during 2001 – 2011 for implementation of watershed management programmes. Multi-spectral and multi-temporal data have been used for generating of thematic maps. Survey of India (SOI) topographical map was used for preparation of base map which was overlaid on FCC for land use/land cover mapping through visual interpretation, which led to the identification of 8 land use/land cover categories. The maps were finalized after the ground truth verification was conducted in key areas. The precipitation data for the period from 1986 to 2011 were statistically analyzed over a period of 25 years to know the variation of annual precipitation. The maximum and minimum precipitation recorded in watershed is 1677.5 mm in 2011 and 83.1 mm in 1996, respectively. The comparative analyses of 2001 and 2011 satellite data reveals that significant positive changes have occurred within rain-fed watershed in land use/land cover categories like cultivated land, uncultivated land, open forest, open scrub, culturable wasteland and water body, whereas, negative change has been observed only in built up class. The transformation of land use from one pattern to another is due to the increase in annual precipitation. The changing trends form negative to positive change is the result of implementation of different watershed development/management government programs in Kanera watershed.

Index Terms—Land use/land cover, positive and negative change, land transformation and watershed development/ management programs

Cite:Mohd Yousuf Khanday, Imran Khan, and Akram Javed, "Implementation of Watershed Management Programmes in Kanera Watershed, a Case Study Using Remote Sensing and GIS," International Journal of Geology and Earth Science, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 1-13, June 2015.