What is land cover data and what does it do?
Land cover is the physical material at the surface of earth and includes water, vegetation, bare soil, and artificial structures. Land cover data is a crucial reference dataset that informs a wide variety of activities ranging from environmental planning and protection, economic development, compliance monitoring, enforcement, and strategic decision making.
National Land Cover Project
The National Land Cover Project developed a fully automated, operational process for the production of future national land-cover data for South Africa, based on the gazetted South African Land Cover Classes and definitions approved in terms of the Spatial data Infrastructure Act No. 54 of 2003. The Computer Automated Land cover (CALC) system was developed with the ability to create automated land cover datasets, accuracy assessments and change detection between comparable land cover datasets with supporting reports and metadata. The CALC system has been used to generate the 2018, 2020 and 2022 South African National Land Cover (SANLC) datasets and all associated change assessments.
Change Assessment
All SANLC change assessments and reporting is based on a simplified 20 x class change reporting legend. This change reporting legend is derived from the original 73 x class legend, and represents a series of original-class groupings and amalgamations designed to improve and understanding of key landscape changes and the reporting thereof.
2022 South African National Land Cover and Land Cover Change Data Launch
The Launch was virtually attended by almost 400 stakeholders and interested parties.
Recording (MP4) of the meeting available from this link.
DATA DOWNLOAD
South African National Land Cover (SANLC), 2022
NAME OF DATA SET | RELEASE DATE | FILE FORMAT | SIZE |
---|---|---|---|
|
23 May 2024 |
zip |
1.40MB |
|
23 May 2024 |
Zip |
395MB |
|
23 May 2024 |
Zip |
434MB |
|
23 May 2024 |
Zip |
1.36MB |
South African National Land Cover (SANLC) Change Assessment Datasets
Please note that Gauteng and the North-West provincial boundaries were corrected for all the change assessment years. The previous change assessments used an older provincial boundary, which has now been corrected.
Date Updated: 23 May 2024
NAME OF DATA SET | RELEASE DATE | FILE FORMAT | SIZE |
---|---|---|---|
|
23 May 2024 |
Zip |
401MB |
|
23 May 2024 |
Zip |
385MB |
|
23 May 2024 |
Zip |
362MB |
|
23 May 2024 |
Zip |
342MB |
|
23 May 2024 |
Zip |
387MB |
|
23 May 2024 |
Zip |
371MB |
|
23 May 2024 |
Zip |
337MB |
|
23 May 2024 |
Zip |
401MB |
|
23 May 2024 |
Zip |
385MB |
|
23 May 2024 |
Zip |
380MB |
South African National Land Cover (SANLC), 2020
NAME OF DATA SET | RELEASE DATE | FILE FORMAT | SIZE |
---|---|---|---|
|
29 June 2021 |
zip |
1.81MB |
|
29 June 2021 |
Zip |
372MB |
|
29 June 2021 |
Zip |
409MB |
|
29 June 2021 |
Zip |
1.36MB |
South African National Land Cover (SANLC), 2018
NAME OF DATA SET | RELEASE DATE | FILE FORMAT | SIZE |
---|---|---|---|
|
29 June 2021 |
Zip |
1.29MB |
|
29 June 2021 |
Zip |
391MB |
|
29 June 2021 |
Zip |
431MB |
|
29 June 2021 |
Zip |
1.36MB |
South African National Land Cover 2013-14, 35 Classes;
Name of Data Set | Description | Release Date | File Format | Size |
---|---|---|---|---|
|
7 June 2016 |
zip |
5.52MB |
|
|
7 June 2016 |
zip |
223MB |
|
|
7 June 2016 |
zip |
208MB |
|
|
7 June 2016 |
zip |
224MB |
South African National Land Cover Thematic Data 2013-14, 72 Classes
Name of Data Set | Description | Release Date | File Format | Size |
---|---|---|---|---|
|
7 June 2016 |
zip |
1.69MB |
|
|
7 June 2016 |
zip |
300MB |
|
|
7 June 2016 |
zip |
279MB |
|
|
7 June 2016 |
zip |
299MB |
|
|
7 June 2016 |
zip |
4.01GB |
South African National Land Cover 1990, 35 Classes
Name of Data Set | Description | Release Date | File Format | Size |
---|---|---|---|---|
Metadata Reports Stats Dates, 35 Classes, 1990 |
7 June 2016 |
zip |
4.34MB |
|
Original UTM 35 North, 35 Classes, 1990 |
7 June 2016 |
zip |
249MB |
|
Reprojected GEO, 35 Classes, 1990 |
7 June 2016 |
zip |
231MB |
|
Reprojected UTM 35 South, 35 Classes, 1990 |
7 June 2016 |
zip |
249MB |
South African National Land Cover 1990, 72 Classes
NAME OF Data set | Description | Release Date | File Format | Size |
---|---|---|---|---|
Reprojected GEO84, 72 Classes, 1990 |
7 June 2016 |
zip |
258MB |
|
Original UTM35 South, 72 Classes, 1990 |
7 June 2016 |
zip |
278MB |
|
Reprojected UTM35 South, 72 Classes, 1990 |
7 June 2016 |
zip |
278MB |
|
ERDAS UTM35 Hillshade 1990 |
7 June 2016 |
zip |
4.07GB |
|
1990 SANLC Data User Report and MetaData |
7 June 2016 |
|
4.50MB |
Geographic Areas Data
Name of Data Set | Description | Release Date | File Format | Size |
---|---|---|---|---|
Final EGI Expansion Corridors |
21 July 2020 |
zip |
187KB |
|
REDZs Strategic Transmission Corridors |
20 April 2017 |
zip |
712KB |
|
Strategic Gas Pipeline Network |
21 July 2020 |
zip |
399KB |
|
Phase 2 REDZs |
21 July 2020 |
zip |
74.2KB |
|
Phase 1 REDZs |
21 July 2020 |
zip |
409KB |
|
REDZ Unpublished Draft 2015. Renewable Energy Development Zones (REDZs) |
11 June 2016 |
zip |
771KB |
|
Gauteng Province Env. Management Framework. Zone 1 - Shapefile |
March 2022 |
zip |
6.74MB |
|
Gauteng Province Env. Management Framework. Zone 5 - Shapefile |
March 2022 |
zip |
1.39MB |
For Land Cover enquiries contact Zakariyyaa Oumar at ZOumar@dffe.gov.za