Land degradation is a global issue with local solutions. Therefore, a concerted global effort on the post-2015 development agenda should also include the many promising SLM technologies and ap-proaches that are already applied. This would help empower the global community to learn from each other, and contribute to building resilience at local, national, and regional levels. This document portrays the major land and soil degradation assessments of the past and critically evaluates their results. Another section is devoted to the various methodologies that can be applied, including their strengths and weaknesses. It finally explores promising potential corner stones of future assessments, with particular reference to the SDG target of Land Degradation Neutrality. Despite the numerous challenges involved, the document is making the case for global assessments of land and soil quality. And it suggests that besides an agreed conceptual framework it is awareness, respect for complexity and diversity, an ecosystem approach and last but not least adequate funding that will make future endeavours a success.