Paper Title
Environmental Dynamics in South Sulawesi: An Analysis using Geographic Information Systems

Abstract
Continued deterioration of land and water resources is occurring in many parts of the world partly as a result of environmental management practices not being suitably matched to the carrying capacity of the environment. To help address this problem, there is a need for information that will allow environmental managers to identify both the inherent characteristics of land and water the spatial distribution of land use in a region. Practically, environmental planning systems require a powerful model and information systems that can accommodate various aspects of environmental dynamics both spatially and temporally. Such a model should be able to estimate consistently the structural dependence between various environmental factors related to land and water in a region, to predict direct or indirect impacts of development activities on land, and to consistently predict the trend of growth for the coming years. The purpose of this study is to map land use/land cover on a time series basis in South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia to explore specific behaviors of environmental dynamics that reflect the structure and pattern of land use changes over the last decade. The methods employed in this study include descriptive analysis, simple spatial analysis (using Geographic Information System, GIS), and evaluation of relevant driving factors. Landsat 7 ETM+ images were used to produce a land use/land cover map of the study area. A site-specific framework was developed for use in thematic information extraction involving the use of visual analysis, spectral-based (automated) procedures, and ancillary information. Some secondary data were also used to analyse the dynamic nature of the environment. The results show that considerable change of environmental factors has accrued during the last decade, derived by development activated in the region. The results of this study will lead to the better interpretation of better environmental planning and management in the region. Keywords - Environmental Dynamic, GIS, Land Use, Environmental Management.