Land evaluation can be used by national policymakers, international development organizations, farmers, and conservationists to increase productivity, biodiversity conservation success, and to promote innovation. Land evaluation helps make better decisions about how to use the land, and is therefore essential to achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (Sustainable Development Goal 15.3). An understanding of the longterm land potential is needed to (a) determine where production can be sustainably increased, and (b) identify land that could be restored.  Matching land use with its potential allows the inherent long-term potential to be sustainably realized.  Sustainability depends on (1) potential degradation resistance, and (2) potential resilience, which is the capacity to recover from degradation. Land with similar potential should therefore respond similarly to management.  Policymakers, development organizations, and land managers, including farmers and conservationists, can use land evaluation to (a) increase productivity while adapting to climate change, (b) minimize social, economic, and environmental risks of land use change, (c) increase restoration and biodiversity conservation success, and (d) promote innovation and knowledge sharing.