Introduction

Although all living organisms require biological resources (such as food, water or shelter), it is the human perspective of a natural resource as anything obtained from the environment to satisfy human needs and wants that gives the term its importance in the context of Geography.

British Columbia is rich in natural resources including lumber, copper, coal, natural gas, oil, zinc, gold, silver, nickel, iron and fish. As resource extraction is directly linked to land use and territory, what does this mean for issues of ownership for First Nations communities, and for the sustainability of the environment for BC residents more broadly?

The focus of this chapter is on contemporary extraction resource industries and their impact.