The potential for integrated landscape management to fulfil Europe's commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals

The aim of this perspective essay is to discuss how integrated landscape management (ILM) can contribute to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda in Europe. Challenges for sustainable development become evident in the emergence of land-use conflicts. Facing multiple, and in sometimes conflicting, land-use objectives and policies, we elaborate on the potential of ILM to support multifunctionality and integration across sectors and scales. Based on three recent land-use conflict cases from distinct European contexts, we empirically identify and discuss key characteristics of ILM for land-use conflict resolution as a means for SDG implementation. These conflicts are (1) agricultural production versus nature conservation, (2) urban sprawl and rural land abandonment versus landscape integrity, and (3) renewable energy generation versus landscape aesthetics. In our cases we find common concerns of decreasing landscape quality as a basis for actors to engage in collective action, the need for multi-actor/multi-sector collaboration, and the assignment of clear rights and responsibilities for land management. In contrast, issues of capacity building, transparency in decision-making and flexibility for adaptations are found lacking. Finally, we discuss ways how ILM can improve policy and practice to handle ambiguous interests and goals, and highlight the future role of landscape research in supporting SDG implementation at the landscape level in Europe.