摘要：Robust approaches to natural resource management (NRM) in indigenous cross-cultural contexts require coherentunderstandings of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) systems. We synthesize a framework to represent the traditionallyderived worldview of Arrernte Aboriginal people within which IEK is embedded. This is an ecology-focused worldview withthree interrelated domains of knowledge that are intricately linked, comprising many complex dynamic elements that interactwith each other. This worldview is from desert Australia but is relevant to those working in complex cross-cultural environmentsacross Australia and internationally. The visual framework presented fills an important conceptual gap in IEK documentationbeing positioned at a mesoconceptual scale. Comparisons between this knowledge framework and social–ecological systemstheory indicate similarities in systems thinking, in explicit links between people and ecology, and in the emphasis on processesand relationships through causal loops and feedbacks. Important differences lie in the inextricable integration of economic andspiritual domains in the Arrernte worldview. In Arrernte eyes, interrelationships between people, resource species, land, andspiritual domains are central to NRM. Scientific approaches commonly overlook or segregate elements of indigenous knowledge.The multiple values indigenous people attribute to species are often ignored or overridden, which contributes to decouplingwithin their knowledge system. Western scientists and natural resource managers are looking for better understandings ofindigenous knowledge systems. The framework offers a tool that can be applied to both cross-cultural and intergenerationallearning to improve NRM and people's well-being and sense of self
关键词：Aboriginal economy; Australia; biodiversity; bush foods; cultural values; desert; indigenous knowledge system;natural resource management; social–ecological system
