Deciding Alternative Land Use Options in a Watershed Using GIS

The present approach adopted for suggesting alternative sustainable land use comprises taking into consideration present land use/land cover, soils, slope, and geomorphology. However, this paper deals with watershed management from a different perspective, by stressing the development of the watershed for agriculture activities; first, by implementing soil and water conservation works. The next step is to suggest alternative sustainable land uses based on soil and water conservation measures, groundwater prospects, land capability, and present land use/land cover in the area. The new approach is found to be very useful, as it takes into consideration basic factors necessary for the overall development and management of the watershed, and ensures stoppage of further degradation of the resources through appropriate soil conservation measures and land uses.