Global land consolidation deepens biodiversity and social deficits despite economic gains

Land consolidation is widely promoted as a valuable structural tool for sustainable intensification. Yet while policy frameworks celebrate its potential for rural revitalization, empirical assessments remain heavily siloed within single dimensions, obscuring critical trade-offs and synergies that govern real-world outcomes. Here we show, through a global synthesis of 148 cases across 28 countries, that land consolidation yields consistent economic gains as well as concerning ecological and social deficits. Sixty-five percent of cases assess outcomes within a single dimension, while fewer cases capture synergies or trade-offs across multiple dimensions. Economic benefits predominate, but negative environmental and social outcomes are also prevalent. Biodiversity is reduced in 81% of the assessed cases, while 57% of the assessed cases document heightened social inequalities, driving acute trade-offs in Life on Land (SDG 15) and Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10). Crucially, project architecture appears to dictate these trajectories: programs restricted solely to agricultural intensification are likely to generate single-dimensional gains, whereas integrating ecological conservation into the design increases cross-dimensional synergies from 17% to 42% and curtails trade-offs. These findings demonstrate that land consolidation is not an inherent vehicle for sustainable intensification. Realizing global sustainability targets demands redesigning land consolidation from yield-maximizing towards integrated landscape stewardship that embeds tenure security and targets ecological outcomes from the outset.