Characterization of Post-uprising Impacts on Landcover and Land Use: Al Wasita-Satish—Area Northeast Libya Case Study

Spatial and temporal processes primarily drive land use and land cover (LULC) changes through human activities, such as agricultural expansion and demographic change. This study aims to quantify the LULC change resulting from the civil war in Al Wasita-Satish Plateau, NE Libya. Using two satellite images from the Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) in 2010 and Landsat 8 OLI-TIRs in 2022, LULC changes were evaluated. Agriculture and arid, urban, dense, and sparse vegetation were the predominant LULC types in the study area. In 2010, sparse vegetation comprised the most significant percentage of the land area (37.15%), followed by dense vegetation (26.45%), agriculture (18.69%), and barren land. The constructed category had a relatively small area (1, 31%). According to the LULC maps for 2022, the proportion of barren land increased by 30.50% and sparse vegetation decreased by 29.09% and dense vegetation decreased by 15.81%. In addition, there was a slight increase in the agricultural (18.69%) and urban classes (4.25%). The findings demonstrate that the Libyan Civil War of 2011 affected the LULC, where land and environmental protection laws and law enforcement tools were rendered ineffective. Despite the absence of armed conflict in the study area, the displacement of people from conflict zones and their settlements contributed to the change in LULC. Local communities that practice agriculture and grazing have created alternative economic activities with a quick and comfortable financial return, such as the construction of tourist settlements, due to the area's popularity as a tourist destination and lack of financial resources.