Contribution of Earth Observation Data to the Management of Herder-farmer Conflicts in the Sub-Prefecture of Bouandougou in the North-West of Ivory Coast

Abstract

This study aims to improve the knowledge of farmers and pastoralists on the management of spatial conflicts through updated information on the dynamics of agriculture-grazing. To achieve this objective, the methodological approach consisted of collecting and processing Landsat satellite images TM, TM+/OLI-TIRS to highlight the dynamics of land cover from 1998 to 2024 in the Bouandougou Sub-Prefecture, on the other hand a socio-economic survey was conducted among the various stakeholders. We obtained performance indicators that are higher than recommended (80% overall accuracy and 75% Kappa coefficient) in the processing of satellite images. The analysis of the dynamics shows that the mosaic shrub savannas annual crops increased by 52.82% from 1998 to 2024, forest islands lost 41.96% of their areas over the same period. In order to promote peaceful coexistence between farmers and livestock breeders in agro-pastoral regions, the integration of geographic information system tools should be considered to strengthen policy decisions in the management of agro-pastoral conflicts.