Protected landscapes have traditionally been designed as ecological sanctuaries, yet the question of whose interests they ultimately serve remains unresolved. This paper rethinks recreational planning through a justice-centered lens that integrates land rights, rural revitalization, and ecological integrity. Drawing from comparative experiences across Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and North America, it examines how access, benefit-sharing, and governance shape both human and environmental outcomes. The analysis challenges exclusionary fortress conservation models that privilege biodiversity at the expense of community rights and introduces the Justice–Recreation–Ecology (JRE) framework as a holistic alternative. The JRE framework situates justice as the ethical foundation, recreation as the social mediator, and ecology as the biophysical boundary for sustainable landscape governance. To operationalize this, the study develops measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across justice (participation, benefit retention, recognition of indigenous knowledge), recreation (visitor satisfaction, equitable access, and digital inclusion), and ecology (biodiversity intactness, restoration area, and ecosystem stability). It also explores the transformative potential of land informatization tools like GIS, remote sensing, and blockchain for transparent, participatory, and accountable monitoring. By embedding distributive, procedural, and recognition justice into recreational planning, the paper demonstrates that inclusive stewardship can simultaneously sustain biodiversity, empower communities, and revitalize rural economies. Consequently, reimagining protected landscapes through justice-oriented recreational planning transforms them from exclusionary spaces into shared socio-ecological commons capable of nurturing both resilience and belonging.