Forest Loss and Sustainable Development Challenges in the Satpuda Fringe of North Maharashtra: A Remote Sensing–Based Assessment

Abstract

Forest ecosystems in the Satpuda fringe of North Maharashtra are very crucial in maintaining the ecological stability and tribal livelihoods, but they are becoming under pressure due to development pressures. The paper evaluates the change in forest cover and its sustainability development in the Satpuda fringe in 2015-2025 using a remote sensing and GIS-based methodology. Geometric, radiometric, and atmospheric corrections were applied to multi-temporal satellite images of Landsat 8 (2015) and Landsat 9/Sentinel-2 (2025). In ArcGIS Pro, supervised classification and post-classification change detection methods were used to measure the change of tehsil-wise forest cover in terms of area and percentage. The findings indicate a general and geographically imbalanced decrease in forest cover in the study area. The loss of forest was found to be significant in Akrani (247.90 sq. km; -19.14%) and Akkalkuwa (109.25 sq. km; -11.74%), which means that there is a strong pressure in tribal tehsils with a lot of forest. Other tehsils had moderate declines, with only Raver having a marginal growth (3.42 sq. km; +0.36%), probably because of local afforestation. Forest loss spatial distribution is in close relation to population increase, agricultural activities, and infrastructure. The paper identifies the urgency to have integrated land-use planning and conservation-based development policies to achieve long-term sustainability in the ecologically sensitive Satpuda fringe of North Maharashtra.