The global trajectories of population, consumption and energy use cannot be sustained without a radical decoupling of economic growth from carbon pollution, resource depletion and degradation. Moving to more sustainable population and consumption levels is the challenge of our age, because business as usual is not a viable option. Systematic reform is needed in energy, water, transport, urban design and planning, the built environment and farming, food and health systems. Fundamental to this reform is the need to make better use of knowledge and to understand the interdependencies of landscapes, lifestyles and livelihoods especially in the quest to sustain our natural resources in a viable and useful condition. This is particularly important in the context of Australian landscapes where we are still yet to develop an adequate literacy on how "nature meets culture". Landscapes are socially constructed, and management of natural resources in a regional landscape is driven by people. This means that to bring about significant change in the landscape requires processes that understand the values, perceptions and aspirations influencing human behaviour. It also means that change and improvement is unlikely without full recognition of the need for integration across issues (climate, energy, water, food), across scales (paddock, region, state and continent) and across the triple helix of landscape, lifestyles and livelihoods.