Land cover mapping forms a reference base for resource managers in their decision-making processes to guide rural/urban growth and management of natural resources. The aim of this study was to map land cover dynamics within the Upper Shire River catchment, Malawi. The article promotes innovation of automated land cover mapping based on remote sensing information to generate data products that are both appropriate to, and usable within different scientific applications in developing countries such as Malawi. To determine land cover dynamics, 1989 and 2002 Landsat images were used. Image bands were combined in transformations and indices with physical meaning; together with spatial data, to enhance classification accuracy. A maximum likelihood classification for each image was computed for identification of land cover variables. The results showed that the combination of spatial and digital data enhanced classification accuracy and the ability to categorise land cover features, which are relatively inhomogeneous.