Land degradation and desertification threaten fertile land and the benefits human society derives from it throughout the world. On a global scale, around 10 - 20% of drylands and 24% of the world’s productive lands are degraded. The consequences are alarming: food insecurity, poverty, reduced availability of clean water, and increased vulnerability of affected areas to climate change. It is estimated that 1.5 billion people across the world are already directly affected through reduced income or food security. The annual economic losses due to deforestation and land degradation were estimated at 1.5 - 3.4 trillion Euro in 2008, equaling 3.3 - 7.5% of the global GDP in 2008 (ELD, 2013). Competition for the scarce resources of soil and water is further intensified by the growing world population and increasing demand for alternative land management products. Every year, around 24 billion tons of fertile farmland worldwide is lost due to soil sealing, erosion, and desertification. The on-going degradation of fertile soil must be halted if the earth is to sufficiently provide land-based ecosystem services for its ever growing number of inhabitants. Preliminary studies suggest huge costs of land degradation and call for investments in actions reducing land degradation, such as the adoption of sustainable land management (SLM) practices. More work is required to obtain more accurate figures of the economic benefits costs and benefits associated with improved land management at multiple levels so as to provide a basis for scientificallysound and reliable decision-making.