Global border watch: From land use change to joint action

•Globally, national borderlands are undergoing rapid and widespread land use and land cover changes.•About 20% of global population growth occurred in borderlands, leading to over one-third of forest loss.•Land use changes due to agricultural expansion and forest retreat characterize the landscape of the borderlands.•We appeal a border-related scientific platform of Global Border Watch, to investigate border land use change and its consequences. National borderlands as the forefront of geo-cooperation, are experiencing rapid and widespread land use and land cover changes, such as rubber boom in Southeast Asia. The booming agro-industries in the borderlands have improved the livelihoods of indigenous people and cross-border dwellers but may have ecological and environmental consequences and controversies, such as cross-border land grabbing. Although previous research has significantly enhanced our knowledge of land use/cover changes and geo-cooperative mechanisms, the relationship between border geography (via land use changes) and geopolitical economics, as well as their processes, mechanisms, and models for measuring cause–effect and impact–response relationships, has been seldom reported. We thus propose that a joint action, such as setting up a scheme or strategy of a supranational level (e.g., United Nations (UN)) Global Border Watch (GBW), to be initiated to focus on inter- and multi-disciplinary studies involving geography, land system science, remote sensing science, and international relations. In particular, studies should be enhanced to investigate the relationship between border geography and geopolitical economics, as well as the processes, mechanisms, and effects under the umbrella of the UN GBW.