432 ISSN 2286-4822 www.euacademic.org EUROPEAN ACADEMIC RESEARCH Vol. II, Issue 1/ April 2014 Impact Factor: 3.1 (UIF) DRJI Value: 5.9 (B+) Change Detection in Land Use and Land Cover Using Remote Sensing Data and GIS in Renuka Forest Division JAGDISH CHAND Department of Geography Govt. PG College, Nahan India Abstract: Land use and land cover change have been among the most important perceptible changes taking place around us. Although perceptible, the magnitude, variety and the spatial variability of the changes taking place has made the quantification and assessment of land use and land cover changes a challenge to geographers. Furthermore, since most of the land use and land cover changes are directly influenced by human activities. The Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System has proved to be very important in assessing and analyzing land use and land cover changes. Satellite- based Remote Sensing, by virtue of its ability to provide synoptic information of land use and land cover at a particular time and location, has revolutionized the study of land use and land cover change. The temporal information on land use and land cover helps identify the areas of change in a region. The use of Geoinformatics has enabled us to assign spatial connotations to land use land cover changes, namely, population pressure, climate, terrain, etc. which drive these changes. This has helped geographers to quantify these tools and to predict various scenarios. This article gives an overview of the current trends in land use and land cover changes of Renuka forest division in Sirmour district. Key words: Land use; Land cover; Remote sensing; Geographic information system; Geoinformatics.