Analysis of Changes in Land Cover to Support The Management of Gunung Leuser National Park

Abstract. Gunung Leuser National Park (GLNP) in Aceh and North Sumatra, Indonesia was allocated to protect and preserve its local biodiversity. GLNP implements a national park management policy that adopts a zoning system which includes core, wilderness, rehabilitation, traditional use, utilization and other zones. Population growth causes land cover changes in GLNP and in its buffer zone. One of the approaches to assessing rapid land cover changes is by employing a remote sensing approach. The purposes of this study are: (1) to analyze land cover change between the periods of 1996, 2005 and 2014; (2) to analyze the relationship between the population pressure index and land cover changes; and (3) to propose a guidance and recommendations for a better management of land cover changes in GLNP. The results showed that the main land cover classes at GLNP and its buffer zone in the period between 1996 and 2014 were forests, grass/shrubs, and cropland. Compared with the proposed zoning and the provincial master plan, there were land cover mismatches in 2014, especially in Southeast Aceh Regency. The land cover changes analysis indicated a significant decrease of forest land cover from 1996 to 2014. In the period between 1996 and 2005, the analysis showed the highest increase for cropland whilst in the period between 2005 and 2014, the highest increase was observed for plantations.