Twenty-five years since foundational publications on valuing ecosystem services for human well-being 1 , 2 , addressing the global biodiversity crisis 3 still implies confronting barriers to incorporating nature’s diverse values into decision-making. These barriers include powerful interests supported by current norms and legal rules such as property rights, which determine whose values and which values of nature are acted on. A better understanding of how and why nature is (under)valued is more urgent than ever 4 . Notwithstanding agreements to incorporate nature’s values into actions, including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) 5 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals 6 , predominant environmental and development policies still prioritize a subset of values, particularly those linked to markets, and ignore other ways people relate to and benefit from nature 7 . Arguably, a ‘values crisis’ underpins the intertwined crises of biodiversity loss and climate change 8 , pandemic emergence 9 and socio-environmental injustices 10 . On the basis of more than 50,000 scientific publications, policy documents and Indigenous and local knowledge sources, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) assessed knowledge on nature’s diverse values and valuation methods to gain insights into their role in policymaking and fuller integration into decisions 7 , 11 . Applying this evidence, combinations of values-centred approaches are proposed to improve valuation and address barriers to uptake, ultimately leveraging transformative changes towards more just (that is, fair treatment of people and nature, including inter- and intragenerational equity) and sustainable futures.

Despite increasing scientific understanding of the global environmental crisis, we struggle to adopt the policies science suggests would be effective. One of the reasons for that is the lack of inclusive engagement and dialogue among a wide range of different actors. Furthermore, there is a lack of consideration of differences between languages, worldviews and cultures. In this paper, we propose that engagement across the science-policy interface can be strengthened by being mindful of the breadth and depth of the diverse human-nature relations found around the globe. By examining diverse conceptualizations of "nature" in more than 60 languages, we identify three clusters: inclusive conceptualizations where humans are viewed as an integral component of nature; non-inclusive conceptualizations where humans are separate from nature; and deifying conceptualizations where nature is understood and experienced within a spiritual dimension. Considering and respecting this rich repertoire of ways of describing, thinking about and relating to nature can help us communicate in ways that resonate across cultures and worldviews. This repertoire also provides a resource we can draw on when defining policies and sustainability scenarios for the future, offering opportunities for finding solutions to global environmental challenges.

Mapping ecosystem services (ES) has become an important tool to study nature's contributions to people (NCP) spatially and to manage ecosystems sustainably. However, few of these studies have been carried out in Africa and even fewer in drylands. This is not surprising, as drylands in general have not received much attention in the field of ecosystem services due to the perception that they do not provide much due to their low levels of productivity. In addition, not much data is available to map ecosystem services in Africa. In this study, we map regulating services of the Marrakesh Safi region in Morocco. First, a land cover map was developed based on existing information. This land cover map was thereafter used to map and model three regulating service categories in the region namely, carbon sequestration, microclimate regulation, and hydrological services (water regulation and water quantity) using six indicators. Our results show that agricultural land, which occupies the largest percentage area, also sequestered the most carbon in the study area. Forests sequestered about 16% carbon despite occurring in only 14% of the area and are the most efficient in sequestering carbon when considering carbon sequestered per hectare per year. The ecosystem type with the highest potential to supply water regulation services was Quercus ilex with about 200 m3/ha. The study shows that the hotspots areas are located in the southeast parts of the study area where the Quercus ilex is mostly found. Contrary to the belief that most arid systems are not productive and therefore do not provide many ecosystem services, our spatial outputs showed that the area around Marrakesh in Morocco, despite being arid provides many regulating services including water and microclimate regulation.