Current conservation instruments, which for most species rely heavily on protected areas, are insufficient to halt biodiversity loss. Conservation initiatives in the wider landscape surrounding protected areas are needed to achieve the impact required for reversing negative biodiversity trends. Focussing on intensively used north-western European landscapes, we present a landscape-level conservation approach that coordinates, integrates and evaluates conservation management by different stakeholders in protected areas, farmland and public space. The starting point is the set of environmental conditions or the habitat characteristics that is needed to realize stable or positive biodiversity trends. Such sets are captured in Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that can be quantified easily over large areas. Integrated monitoring and evaluation of the relationships between KPIs, management and biodiversity need to be used to validate initial assumptions and continuously improve conservation effectiveness. Evaluation relies on trend monitoring in areas with and without conservation management and extrapolations to landscape-level biodiversity trends based on the total area on which conservation is being implemented. The relationships between biodiversity and KPIs can subsequently be used to develop biodiversity-based business models and to inspire and help stakeholders within and outside these focal areas to actively join the initiative.