Land, people and institutions together shape landscapes. People manage land within the limits set by institutions that they respect, but they may break the rules of others that are not effectively enforced. Land use influences ecosystem processes that in turn determine ecosystem functions for the primary land user (taking decisions to use land in a certain way), but also for others. Negative consequences on other stakeholders are the basis of conflicts, but these can be contained if land use rules emerge that are effectively respected and enforced. The rules may include compensation or economic incentives, but these need to have a common point of reference in a joint understanding of how the landscape functions. Where previously ‘decision support’ systems were focused on informing a single decision-maker, the term ‘negotiation support’ emerged to describe a process of achieving a shared understanding of how the landscape system functions, the various interests of the main stakeholders, and the various ways these are affected by current status and trends, and by alternative development scenarios (van Noordwijk et al., 2001).