Integrating remote Ssensing and GIS in detecting deforestation in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Deforestation poses a significant threat to biodiversity and environmental stability in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Traditional forest monitoring methods are often inadequate due to their time-consuming, expensive, and limited nature. Therefore, this study was conducted to classify the land use and land cover changes in Kota Kinabalu and analyse a 10-years deforestation trends from 2014 to 2024. Two satellite images of the study area were processed and analysed using geospatial analysis. The land use and land cover changes were analysed using supervised classification technique following Maximum Likelihood algorithm in ArcGIS v10.8 and produces six LULC classes. From year 2014 to 2024, the forest area decreased at 10.53km2. It was defined by the expansion of urbanization area where it show an increase of 16.9% or 62.14km2 in ten year time. The increment is attributed to population growth and development, such as establishment of new settlements. The results of this study highlight the importance of utilizing geospatial technology in environmental monitoring and it could contribute to the development of effective forest management strategies in Sabah.