thumb|a [[rangeland management specialist]]

Land management is the process of managing the use and development of land resources. Those resources are used for a variety of purposes for example agriculture, forestry, water resource management, human settlements and tourism. One aim of land management is to prevent or reverse land degradation. Another aim is to ensure water security by increasing soil moisture availability, decreasing surface runoff, and decreasing soil erosion. Unsustainable land managements leads to land being over- or misused which in turn degrades the land, reduces productivity and disrupts natural equilibriums.

Sustainable land management (SLM) is the set of practices and technologies that aim to integrate the management of land, water, and other environmental resources to meet human needs while ensuring long-term sustainability, ecosystem services, biodiversity, and livelihoods. Land 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 and other lands.

Sustainable land management

Sustainable land management (SLM) is a process in a charged environment between environmental protection and the guarantee claim of ecosystem services on the one hand. On the other hand, it is about productivity of agriculture and forestry with respect to demographic growth and increasing pressure in land use.

SLM has been defined in various reports as follows:

  • By IPCC 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".

Purposes

One aim of sustainable land management is to prevent or reverse land degradation. Another aim is to ensure water security by increasing soil moisture availability, decreasing surface runoff, and decreasing soil erosion.

The report's summary 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 and rehabilitation 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 enhanced ecosystem functions and services." 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 managing water resources.