Abstract
Global environmental change is of immense importance as it shows how humans relate
with nature. Within global environmental change debate landscape change analysis is
a crucial cog as it expresses how humans relate with the land. Comprehending
landscape changes, and its drivers are crucial in forging policies that can mitigate
against negative effects of global environmental change. Research on the spatial
component of mapping landscape change through land use and land cover maps is
well documented in the literature. However, understating the drivers of landscape
change remains poorly understood particularly from developing countries in Africa. The
main drivers of landscape change in Southern Africa, are mainly attributed to local
causes and global causes. The challenge is how one can adequately comprehend
these drivers so as to develop sound land management practices. A framework that is
transdisciplinary and that leverages on big data is proposed for the effective modeling
and management of landscapes in Southern Africa.