Country Parties gathered at the UNCCD COP14 requested that the UNCCD Science-Policy Interface (SPI) provide “science- based evidence on the potential contribution of integrated land use planning (ILUP) and integrated landscape management (ILM) to positive transformative change, achieving land degradation neutrality (LDN) and addressing desertification, land degradation, and drought issues” (Decision 18/COP.14).

ILUP refers to assessing and allocating land-based resources across a landscape while accounting for differing uses and demands from different users. It requires the coordination of planning and management across sectors concerned with land resources and their use within a spatial administrative or geographic unit (e.g., a catchment, region, and/or country). The purpose of ILUP is to identify the combination of land uses that can meet stakeholders’ needs while safeguarding natural resources for the future. By examining all land uses in an integrated manner, ILUP assesses trade-offs between land use options. It links social and economic development with environmental protection and enhancement to help achieve sustainable land management. ILUP is an umbrella term that includes more specific approaches such as—but not limited to—territorial planning and spatial planning.

ILM refers to long-term collaboration among different groups of stakeholders to achieve the multiple objectives required from the landscape. Five key features—all of which facilitate participatory development processes—characterize ILM: 1) shared or agreed upon management objectives that encompass multiple landscape benefits; 2) field practices that are designed to contribute to multiple objectives; 3) management of ecological, social, and economic interactions for realizing positive synergies and mitigating negative trade-offs; 4) collaborative, community-engaged planning, management, and monitoring processes; and 5) the re-configuration of markets and public policies to achieve diverse landscape objectives.

Both ILUP and ILM have integral roles to play in achieving LDN. Traditionally, land use planning mainly involved the technical process of allocating land use rights according to land suitability. By comparison, ILUP allows a consideration of the diverse interests in the land that are increasingly recognized as key to environmental targets and to socioeconomic and cultural values. ILM is concerned with the development of management strategies for landscapes rather than with a determination of how they are spatially parceled or zoned.