AUTHOR=Sohail Muhammad Tayyab , Manzoor Zaira , Ehsan Muhsan , Al-Ansari Nadhir , Khan Muhammad Bashir , Shafi Ahsan , Ullah Jar , Hussain Asrar , Raza Danish , Usman Umar , Akbar Sameem , Elbeltagi Ahmed 

TITLE=Impacts of urbanization, LULC, LST, and NDVI changes on the static water table with possible solutions and water policy discussions: A case from Islamabad, Pakistan

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Environmental Science

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/environmental-science/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1018500

DOI=10.3389/fenvs.2023.1018500

ISSN=2296-665X

ABSTRACT=Rapid urbanization coupled with land use land cover changes (LULC) has caused stress on freshwater resources across the globe. As in the case of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, the population has increased many folds, created a deficit of natural resources and affected the environment adversely. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the effects of urbanization and LULC on the decline of the static water table in Islamabad. It also seeks to analyze water policy issues in order to achieve sustainable water resource development. The excessive pumping of the existing groundwater has been used to justify exceeding the safe limit by the constantly growing population. However, the changes in the LULC of the study area have turned many green pastures into barren land. Our research data was obtained from the Capital Development Authority (CDA), Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), and Landsat Satellite images. After analyzing the data for the last 20 years (2000-2020) PMD and CDA, results are clearly interpreted by using Arc GIS. It has been observed that the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) value increases then the Land Surface Temperature (LST) decreases.  So, the overall observation shows Islamabad temperature decrease trend because the vegetation increased in the study area during the period of 2000-2020. It is observed that there is a considerable drop in water level due to over-pumping in a few sectors of Islamabad. It is primarily associated with the increasing population of Capital in the last two decades. This study also carries out an exploration of the potential spots for Check Dams; enhancing and recharging the groundwater aquifers of the Capital, Islamabad through the survey. It suggests catchment areas throughout the Margalla Hills along with different localities such as Rumli Village, Trail 5, and Shahdara.