9724a15d-eaa7-45b4-b24b-35601de0dab3 Elly Mulenga MLNR Senior Cartographer +260977748421 ellymulenga@gmail.com 2026-09-08T08:34:19.720962Z ISO 19115:2003/19139 1.0 2 130316 10 110065 10 WGS 1984 Zambia Land Cover 2023 2024-11-21T13:05:00+03:00 Version 1 Raster land cover maps of Zambia for 2023 produced using modern geospatial methodologies, specifically focusing on Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite data. The selected land cover legend with 8 classes (forest, shrubland, grassland, cropland, built-up, bare land, water, and wetlands) is in line with other ongoing projects (e.g., EU funded” Sustainable Landscape through Integrated Management” (SLIM) project) and meets internationally accepted standards, allowing for cross-country comparisons. Various datasets were used as input data alongside the Sentinel-2 satellite data, such as Copernicus Digital Elevation Model, vegetation height information, built-up surface data from JRC, while training and validation data were collected using high-resolution imagery. Advanced machine learning algorithms were tested for land cover classification using multi-temporal approaches (considering the high variability in vegetation response due to seasonal changes) to enhance the classification results. The NLA land-cover dataset was created to provide a consistent, nationwide representation of Zambia’s physical land surface. It supports the National Land Audit by enabling the assessment of land-cover distribution, environmental conditions and changes over time. The dataset is intended to support national and subnational planning, natural-resource management, environmental assessment, land monitoring, statistical reporting and publication through ZNSDI. It is not intended for determining cadastral boundaries, land ownership or site-specific engineering decisions. Elly Mulenga MLNR Senior Cartographer +260977748421 ellymulenga@gmail.com https://znsdi.szi.gov.zm/srv/api/records/9724a15d-eaa7-45b4-b24b-35601de0dab3/attachments/LandCover.png Land cover; National Land Audit; NLA; Zambia; earth observation; remote sensing; Sentinel-2; land-cover classification Land cover Land cover GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0 2008-06-01 geonetwork.thesaurus.external.theme.httpinspireeceuropaeutheme-theme eng imageryBaseMapsEarthCover 2023-02-08 2023-12-08 21.99935093 33.70903048 -18.077418 -8.203284 The produced national land cover maps for 2023 and 2017 achieved high overall accuracies (around 85%). The 2023 map showed that forest areas dominate the landscape (38.6%), followed by shrubland (34.8%), grassland (11.8%), and cropland (9.4%).