A STUDY ON THE LAND USE CHANGE AND ITS EFFECT TOWARD THE WATER QUALITY IN KAMPWOLKER RIVER

Land use is the physical manifestation of the objects of vegetation cover and associated with human activity on a plot of land (Lillesand and Kiefer, 1997). Land use change reflects the impact of human activities on the global environment (Houghton et al., 1999, Schneider and Eugster, 2005). Sub-watershed Kampwolker is a region with diverse land use such as forest, mixed plantation, open land/grassland, settlements, mining, shrubs and fields. Sub-watershed area of 2.872 ha Kampwolker, in 2015 the use of forest land occupies 61,42% with the condition is still very good, so the water reserves are still relatively insufficient. However, the conditions of use of land settlements are growing (5-7) % within 5 years, it can cause uncontrolled surface runoff can even lead to overflowing rivers (flood) during the rainy season Water quality is one of such factors affected by land change and which is sensitive to change in landscape patterns in a watershed (Xia et al., 2012). However, the dynamic relationships between land use and water quality are yet to be elucidated and may differ substantially in developing countries due to differences in land use and land management practices (Baker, 2003). Water quality parameters in various aquatic system have been closely linked to the proportions or types of land use within a watershed (Lee et al., 2009). This study is very important to determine water quality status in Kampwolker river and it is therefore important for developing integrated watershed management. Most of the land use types are located on the land suitability based on physical land characteristics. The land use change during the period of 2010-2015 and identify the impact of land use change to water quality river. In addition this study can address the issue of land and water sustainability with appropriate land use practices and water protection management. However, more research especially in Papua region is needed because it is a very important sub-watershed for the people and the environment of the Sentani lakes as it supports various economic activities, such as fishing, domestic water supply and tourism.