About 80% of Europe’s surface area is shaped by land use in cities, agriculture and forestry

We cannot live without well-managed, multi-functional lands. Land is the terrestrial foundation of society; it is the platform for infrastructure and for residential, commercial and industrial areas, and is a source of economic growth. However, an increasing share of our planet’s land area is in some way modified by human activities, leading to unsustainable changes in our landscapes. Together with climate change and severe weather events such as floods and drought, these changes stress land resources. In extreme cases, such changes might lead to unhealthy and degraded lands.
Land take is the process in which sealed surfaces occupy agricultural, forest or other natural areas. It is emerging as a global environmental concern.
Based on common template, EEA has analyzed the Corine Land cover 2012 data and provides graphs and maps with concise characterization of land cover changes in 39 EEA member and collaborating countries.