According to “Environmental Challenges to Urban Planning: Fringe areas, Ecological Footprints and Climate Change” paper -The impacts of urbanization and climate change on the world’s environment and populations are arguably two of the most pressing issues facing the world today. In rapidly urbanizing Asia, urbanization and climate change individually and collectively are a rapid and ever-growing challenge to regional and urban planners. Basically fringe zones associated with urban centres have become more numerous, larger and complex with rapid urbanization and the associated transition of large populations from rural to urban lifestyles, and for that Unfortunately the loss of agricultural and undeveloped lands, unauthorized urban development (sprawl) and industrial operations, environmental degradation and overall a significant alteration of critical ecosystems are serious and ever increasing problems faced by fringe zones. For the extensive fringe development, the most critical issue arising from fringe urbanization that is particularly important is the loss of approximately 100,000 hectares (mainly in Asia) per year of agricultural land to urban development. The loss of agricultural land has obvious ramifications in terms of food supply and food prices but equally important is that it also results in a change in lifestyle for those disenfranchised from the land: many of whom migrate to the urban centre further driving the urbanization process. (L. Clark, 2009). Environmental changes: impact of urbanization and investment on environment in the fringe of Finfine city, this paper deals with the environmental changes and transformations taking place in the special zone of Oromia Surrounding Finfine city in general, and specifically, to the fringe areas. A challenge coming from urban expansion of the city of Finfine is something which is an obvious threat. Because of such developments the environment is changing in many dimensions and facets. In many of the literatures on environmental problems in the fringe areas, the rural-urban fringe is often described as the garbage and sewage dump of the main city. Others describe the rural-urban fringe as the area where industries and SEZs prefer to be located. The main environmental problems in this fringe areas are Land degradation, Air pollution, and River and water pollution, Solid waste problem, over consumption of natural resources. The fringe area of Finfine which is currently in the state of mingled condition due to development activities is under stress in many ways. From this study it is known that there is degradation and disruption to the landscape of the area, land conversion is the major environmental problem, river and water pollution due to chemical and other substance discharge to the rivers is highly affecting, the fringe areas of Finfine city Solid waste disposal problem is another type of problem identified. Air pollution due to the foul odours of waste water drained on open space or river gorges and inappropriate solid waste disposals, ashes and smokes from the quarry sites, is among the major environmental problems observed in the area. (Reddy & Tabor, 2013). This paper reviews current thinking about environment-development issues in the transitional zones between distinctly urban and unambiguously rural areas, known variously as rural-urban fringes/transition zones, or peri-urban zones/areas or interfaces. Land Conversion is one of the main environmental challenges on fringe areas, is the inevitable conversion of agricultural and forested land to urban uses, principally housing, commercial and industrial premises, and infrastructure such as roads, power stations and electricity servitudes, waterways, airports, golf courses, other land-extensive recreational facilities, waste dumps, and sewage treatment plants. Another important challenge is the Peri-Urban Agriculture and the environment because of their similarities, common role in feeding cities, and the conceptual difficulties of distinguishing them, urban and peri-urban agriculture are commonly assessed together. Peri-urban cultivation becomes more difficult and precarious when the likelihood of land sale and urban development increases. Loss of cultivable land to a combination of sale and land degradation also reduces local food self-reliance and the ability to sell any surpluses to urban dwellers. The widespread location of polluting infrastructure, such as refuse dumps and sewage treatment plans, comprise disturbance from large numbers of dump trucks, sewage tankers, and livestock transporters traversing key roads; smell and potentially disease-carrying vectors such as flies, mosquitoes, and rodents; and contamination of soil and groundwater. (Simon, 2008).

Land Degradation, Land Conversion, Rural-Urban Fringes/ Transition Zones,