Land management is the process of managing theuse and development of land resources. Those resources are used for a variety of purposes for exampleagriculture,forestry,water resource management,human settlements andtourism. One aim of land management is to prevent or reverseland degradation. Another aim is to ensurewater security by increasingsoil moisture availability, decreasingsurface runoff, and decreasingsoil erosion.^[1] Unsustainable land managements leads to land beingover- or misused which in turn degrades the land, reducesproductivity and disrupts natural equilibriums.^[2]

TheIPCC Sixth Assessment Report describesland management as "The sum of land-use practices (e.g.,sowing,fertilising,weeding,harvesting, thinning andclear-cutting) that take place within broader land-use categories."^[3]: 2914Land use itself is "The total of arrangements, activities and inputs applied to a parcel of land." Land use categories include:forest land, cropland (agricultural land),grassland,wetlands,settlements andother lands.^[3]: 2914

TheUnited Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) applies the termland management in a wide context. Besides agriculture and forestry, they include the mineral extraction sector, property and estate management: "Land management is the process by which the resources of land are put to good effect. It covers all activities concerned with the management of land as a resource both from an environmental and from an economic perspective. It can include farming, mineral extraction, property and estate management, and the physical planning of towns and the countryside.^[4]: 13

Sustainable land management (SLM) is the set of practices and technologies that aim to integrate the management of land,water, and otherenvironmental resources to meethuman needs while ensuring long-termsustainability,ecosystem services,biodiversity, and livelihoods.^[3]: 2924Sustainable forest management is a sub-category of sustainable land management.^[5]: 23

SLM has been defined as follows:

• According to theFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), sustainable land management can be defined as “the use of land resources, including soils, water, animals and plants, for the production of goods to meet changing human needs while simultaneously ensuring the long-term productive potential of these resources and the maintenance of their environmental functions.”^[6]
• ByIPCC in 2022: "The stewardship and use of land resources, including soils, water, animals and plants, to meet changing human needs, while simultaneously ensuring the long-term productive potential of these resources and the maintenance of their environmental functions".^[3]: 2924 This wording is very similar to the longer wording used by theUnited Nations (UN) 1992 Rio Earth Summit in 1992: "The use of land resources, including soils, water, animals and plants, for the production of goods to meet changing human needs, while simultaneously ensuring the long-term productive potential of these resources and the maintenance of their environmental functions."^[1]
• ByWorld Bank in 2006: "SLM is defined as a knowledge-based procedure that helps integrate land, water, biodiversity, and environmental management (including input and output externalities) to meet rising food and fiber demands while sustaining ecosystem services and livelihoods.^[7]: xiv

At the international level, the importance of SLM is reflected in global policy frameworks. TheUnited Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) – an international treaty adopted in 1994 to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought – promotes sustainable land management and aims to achieve land degradation neutrality.^[8]

One aim of sustainable land management is to avoid, reduce or reverseland degradation.^[8] Another aim is to ensurewater security by increasingsoil moisture availability, decreasingsurface runoff, and decreasingsoil erosion.^[1]

TheIPCC stated that sustainable land management can play a role inclimate change mitigation andadaptation.^[5]: 23 This takes place at various scales, at scales, namely "from individual farms to entirewatersheds".^[5]: 23

AWorld Bank report in 2006 explained: "SLM is necessary to meet the requirements of a growing population. Improper land management can lead toland degradation and a significant reduction in the productive and service (biodiversity niches,hydrology,carbon sequestration) functions of watersheds and landscapes."^[7]: xiv

The IPCC'sSpecial Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL) explains the linkages between sustainable land management andclimate change mitigation. The full title of the report is the "Special Report onclimate change,desertification,land degradation, sustainable land management,food security, andgreenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems".^[9][5]

The report'ssummary for policy makers explains that, "Many sustainable land management technologies and practices are profitable within three to 10 years (medium confidence). While they can require upfront investment, actions to ensure sustainable land management can improve crop yields and the economic value of pasture.Land restoration andrehabilitation measures improve livelihood systems and provide both short-term positive economic returns and longer-term benefits in terms of climate change adaptation and mitigation,biodiversity and enhancedecosystem functions and services."^[5]: 35

Land management options exist to focus on healthy soils and to "reduce vulnerability to soil erosion and nutrient loss". Examples include "growing green manure crops and cover crops, crop residue retention, reduced/zero tillage, and maintenance of ground cover through improved grazing management".^[5]: 23 There are also land management options for farmers that buildsoil carbon and therefore provide importantclimate change mitigation benefits throughcarbon sequestration: "agroforestry, perennial pasture phases and use ofperennial grains". All these methods reduce soil erosion and nutrient leaching.^[5]: 23

Land management options that "do not requireland use change and do not create demand for more land conversion" include:^[5]: 20

• improved management of cropland and grazing lands,
• sustainable forest management, and
• increased soil organic carbon content.

For example inEthiopia, "over 85% of the land is estimated to be moderately to severely degraded".^[10] The current practices of sustainable land management (SLM) involve a variety of structural and nonstructural elements integrated at the catchment scale, providing different roles in managingwater resources.^[1] The structural measures (soil bunds, contour trenches, etc.) significantly improve infiltration and water storage potential of the agricultural landscapes. On the other hand, the nonstructural measures, such as the elimination of open grazing on communal grazing land and the abandonment of postharvest grazing on cultivated land, help improve the water retention capacity of the soils and reduce nonproductive evaporative water losses.^[1] In addition, the current practices of SLM attempts to sustain diverse land use mosaics at the catchment scale, including protected areas (gullied lands and communal grazing lands), cultivated land and home gardens, with the aim of harnessing potential uses, services, and values from a catchment.^[1]

Land management also includes the stewardship of cultural and historical landscapes. This often involves specific practices designed to maintain 'artificial' or 'managed' features that would otherwise be reclaimed by natural succession. A notable example is the management ofhill figures in the United Kingdom, such as theLitlington White Horse in East Sussex. The maintenance of such figure's involves a process known as 'scouring.' This is a form ofland restoration where topsoil and encroaching vegetation are manually removed to reveal the underlyingchalk. This practice aligns with theIPCC definition of land management as a 'sum of land-use practices'—in this case, weeding and surface clearing—performed to ensure the long-term preservation of a cultural resource fortourism and education.

Land management decisions are often shaped by policy instruments designed to promote sustainable practices and mitigate environmental harm. According to theFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), these instruments typically fall into three categories: regulatory, incentive-based, and cross-compliance approaches.^[11] Regulatory policies impose legally binding rules such as land-use zoning or deforestation bans. Incentive-based mechanisms—like payments forecosystem services—offer financial rewards for sustainable actions. Cross-compliance schemes condition government support on adherence to environmental standards. Each approach presents trade-offs in terms of enforcement costs, accessibility, and effectiveness, particularly forsmallholders.^[11]

• Agenda 21 – United Nations action plan, 1992
• Carbon farming
• Conservation grazing – Use of animals to graze areas like nature reserves to maintain habitats
• Economics of Land Degradation Initiative – Global initiative for sustainable land management
• Land degradation
• Special Report on Climate Change and Land – IPCC report
• United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

• Land management
• Management by type

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata