The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment focused attention on benefit flows from ecosystems to humans, although nowadays, ecosystem service (ES) researchers typically acknowledge reciprocal flows from humans to nature and there is growing recognition of the need to better incorporate insights from other cultures. We set out to do this, giving primacy to the voice of an Australian Aboriginal group during a workshop that developed an (Aboriginal) model of the nature-people relationship. ES were a component of the model, but the Aboriginal model was not ‘atomistic’ (with separable parcels of land, separable ES, or separable individuals who are not part of community); it focused primarily on connections between and within the human and natural systems. Temporal dimensions were considerably longer than those commonly considered by Western scientists, feelings and spirituality were central, and stewardship activities were highlighted as not only improving the environment but also directly improving wellbeing. Evidently, Country needs to be looked after the ‘right way’; it is not enough to simply account for the ES values that are generated or the stewardship activities that are undertaken (e.g. controlling weeds); one also needs to record how this is done (e.g. with respect) and by whom (e.g. traditional owners).

千年生态系统评估将注意力集中在从生态系统到人类的利益流上，尽管如今，生态系统服务 (ES) 研究人员通常承认从人类到自然的互惠流，并且越来越认识到需要更好地结合其他文化的见解。我们着手这样做，在一个开发自然与人关系的（土著）模型的研讨会上，将澳大利亚土著群体的声音放在首位。ES 是该模型的一个组成部分，但土著模型不是“原子的”（具有可分离的土地、可分离的 ES 或不属于社区的可分离个体）；它主要侧重于人类与自然系统之间和内部的联系。时间维度比西方科学家通常认为的要长得多，感情和灵性是核心，管理活动被强调不仅可以改善环境，还可以直接改善福祉。显然，国家需要以“正确的方式”得到照顾；仅仅考虑产生的 ES 值或进行的管理活动（例如控制杂草）是不够的；一个也需要记录这是如何（例如尊重）以及由谁（例如传统所有者）完成的。