The relationship between humanity and the land has shifted significantly and frequently throughout our tenure. Appropriating increasing proportions of nature's resources to meet our shifting and growing demands, we have been degrading the quality and extent of ecosystems, perilously undermining their capacities to meet the needs of a burgeoning population. Common Ground explores this shifting relationship, examining the changing understandings of the natural world and its management and exploitation. Environmental activist Mark Everard presents solutions from the perspective of ecosystem services and looks ahead to what is required to live sustainably, respecting the central role of landscapes in supporting human well-being into the long-term future.