This dissertation investigates the complex interplay between urbanization, land-cover change, and ecosystem services in peri-urban areas. It employs a three-pronged approach, combining a systematic literature review with two in-depth case studies from the Global South: Metro Manila, Philippines, and the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), India. The first chapter presents a comprehensive review of global literature published between 2000 and 2022, examining environmental and land-use changes in peri-urban regions. Utilizing bibliometric analysis techniques like Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) and co-citation network analysis, the review identifies dominant research themes, influential publications, and key research clusters. This analysis highlights the growing scholarly interest in peri-urban ecosystems and emphasizes the need for integrated approaches to manage the environmental impacts of urbanization. The second chapter focuses on Metro Manila, Philippines, analyzing the impact of urbanization-induced land-cover changes on ecosystem conditions and services. Employing autocorrelation analysis and focusing on the period from 2001 to 2020, the study reveals a strong spatial correlation between urbanization and the decline of ecosystem conditions and services. The expansion of urban areas, primarily at the expense of forests and savannas, has led to a decline in ecosystem health and service provision, particularly in areas closer to Metro Manila. The third chapter examines Delhi NCR, India, exploring the dynamics of land-cover change and its impact on ecosystem services between 2001 and 2020. The study reveals significant urban expansion, particularly in Gurgaon and Faridabad, leading to a decline in vital ecosystem services. Spatial analysis techniques, including spatial autocorrelation and OLS regression models, reveal a clustered pattern of ecosystem services and highlight the influence of spatial factors on land-cover changes.
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