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The development of socio-economic activities within the 60 m buffer zone has imposed change on the characteristics of rivers in northern Tanzania, subjecting rivers to collateral and irreversible damage due to their prolonged exposure to anthropic activities. Time series satellite images were classified to analyze land use/cover (LULC) changes and anthropic development along the buffer zone from 2000 to 2020. Structured questionnaires were used to identify the encroachment factors and level of compliance with alleged environmental legislation. Furthermore, focus group discussions were used to acquire information on the concurrent barriers to environmental legislation implementation. The land use/cover change along the buffer zone showed that agriculture and artificial areas had a credible increase of about 43% and 30% from 2000 to 2020, respectively. Furthermore, forest and semi-natural areas decreased by 71% from 2000 to 2020, whereas wetlands decreased by about 2% within the same timeframe. On the other hand, artificial and agricultural areas increased by 24.5% and 19.5%, respectively. Forest and semi-natural areas decreased by about 44%, whereas wetlands and water showed a flimsy increase from 2000 to 2020. This trend shows that high land use/cover changes occurred along the riparian buffer zone. The results suggest that urbanization is the main driving force for riparian buffer zone encroachment, threatening ecological well-being and water resource sustainability in urban rivers. The findings of this study are useful for advancing regional and national policies and practices for sustainable water resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]