sustainability Article Local Perception of Drivers of Land-Use and Land-Cover Change Dynamics across Dedza District, Central Malawi Region Maggie G. Munthali 1,* , Nerhene Davis 1 , Abiodun M. Adeola 2,3 , Joel O. Botai 1,2,4, Jonathan M. Kamwi 5 , Harold L. W. Chisale 6 and Oluwagbenga O. I. Orimoogunje 7 1 Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Pretoria 0028, South Africa;
[email protected] (N.D.);
[email protected] (J.O.B.) 2 South African Weather Service (SAWS), Private Bag X097, Pretoria 001, South Africa;
[email protected] 3 School for Health Systems and Public Health, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa 4 School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Private Bag X54001, Durban 4000, South Africa 5 Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources Sciences, Namibia University of Science and Technology, 13 Jackson Kaujeua Street, Private Bag 13388, Windhoek 9000, Namibia;
[email protected] 6 Department of Forestry, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Bunda Campus, P.O Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi;
[email protected] 7 Department of Geography, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife 220005, Nigeria;
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[email protected]; Tel.: +265-9992-23571 Received: 24 December 2018; Accepted: 31 January 2019; Published: 5 February 2019 Abstract: Research on Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) dynamics, and an understanding of the drivers responsible for these changes, are very crucial for modelling future LULC changes and the formulation of sustainable and robust land-management strategies and policy decisions.