Common Ground explores the shifting relationship between human society and the landscapes that bear it. Examining the changing understandings of the natural world and its management and exploitation, environmental activist Mark Everard presents solutions in the nature of ecosystem services.Notwithstanding our total dependence on the Earth's natural resources, the relationship between humanity and the land has shifted significantly and frequently throughout our tenure, brief as it is relative to the evolution of planetary life. Appropriating increasing proportions of nature's resources to meet our shifting and growing demands, we have been degrading the quality and extent of ecosystems, nearly destroying their capacities to meet the needs of a burgeoning population.The book offers a fresh and vital whole-system approach to the key under-pinning the issue of sustainability. Everard looks ahead to what is required to live sustainably, respecting the central role of landscapes in supporting human wellbeing into the long-term future.

Mark Everard is the author of six other books, over 50 peer-reviewed scientific papers and over 150 technical magazine articles. He has served on numerous government advisory and expert groups in the UK, as well as advising other governments and multinational corporations on sustainability matters.

Introduction1. Privatisation of the Land2. Reclaiming the Common Good3. The Ends of the Earth4. Shifting Conceptual Landscapes5. A Landscape at our Service6. The Great Food Challenge7. Valuing Land and Landscapes8. Living Landscapes9. Lessons for Tomorrow's World10. The People's Land