Climate & Environment
Sustainable Land Management (SLM)
Definition
Sustainable land management is the use of land resources — soils, water, vegetation, animals — for the production of goods to meet changing human needs, while simultaneously ensuring the long-term productive potential of these resources and the maintenance of their environmental functions (the UN Earth Summit definition). It is the operational concept of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, encompassing conservation agriculture, agroforestry, grazing management, water harvesting and erosion control, catalogued by the WOCAT global database of SLM practices.
References
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This reference provides supporting context for how “Sustainable Land Management (SLM)” is defined and used.
Overview
How it is used
The concept structures UNCCD national action programmes, land degradation neutrality target setting, agricultural extension, and climate-smart agriculture investment.
Why it matters
A third of Earth's land is degraded; SLM is the practice set that makes land use regenerative rather than extractive.