Land is an essential building block of civilization yet its contribution to our quality of life is perceived and valued in starkly different and often incompatible ways. Conflicts about land use are intensifying in many countries. The world has reached a point where we must reconcile these differences and rethink the way in which we use and manage the land.

The evidence presented in this first edition of the Global Land Outlook demonstrates that informed and responsible decision-making, along with simple changes in our everyday lives, can if widely adopted help to reverse the current worrying trends in the state of our land resources.

An outlook is a vantage point, a platform, a perspective; it broadens our vistas and allows us to examine our prospects, both present and future. It is within this broader frame of thinking that the Global Land Outlook (GLO) aims to present a unique perspective on one of the Earth’s most precious assets: land.
PART ONE: The Big Picture

Chapter 1: Meaning of Land

Chapter 2: Brief History of Land Use

Chapter 3: Drivers of Change

Chapter 4: Convergence of Evidence

Chapter 5: Land Resources and Human Security

Part Two: THE OUTLOOK

Chapter 6: Scenarios of Change

Chapter 7: Food Security and Agriculture

Chapter 8: Water Resources

Chapter 9: Biodiversity and Soil

Chapter 10: Energy and Climate

Chapter 11: Urbanization

Chapter 12: Drylands

Part Three: A More Secure Future

Annex One
THE SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR LAND DEGRADATION NEUTRALITY
Annex Two
MAPPING LAND PRODUCTIVITY DYNAMICS: Detecting Critical Trajectories of Global Land Transformations