Regional and provincial conservation efforts require detailed human pressure mapping to manage and mitigate human impacts effectively. However, in the province of British Columbia (BC), existing efforts to map human pressures have faced significant challenges, particularly in adequately capturing their full extent. The Geospatial Centre of Biodiversity Pathways at the University of Northern British Columbia, in collaboration with the West Moberly First Nations and the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, is developing the first high-resolution, thematically complete maps of human pressures across BC. So far, our team has created an initial human footprint map that forms the foundation of human pressure mapping in BC. This map, created from the current best available spatial data, encompasses 68 types of human pressures categorized into agricultural, forestry, transportation, urban, energy, and human-created water bodies. The map has been instrumental in conducting cumulative effect assessments within the Peace River watershed in BC, supporting the application of cumulative effects tools in guiding the land-use planning objectives of the West Moberly First Nations. Currently, our efforts are focused on improving the accuracy of mapping oil and gas activities within the Peace River Watershed using visual interpretation and manual digitization of high-resolution imagery.

Session/theme "Human footprint datasets for Canada: mapping and monitoring in support of land and resource management"