This work is an overview of the critical natural resource conflicts facing the United States and the world, and current attempts to resolve them peacefully.

Conflicts over natural resources are not new. But they are now worldwide, enduring, increasingly contentious, and in some cases, intractable. In this new book, political scientist Jacqueline Vaughn explores conflicts over natural resources—both renewable and nonrenewable—in the United States and from a worldwide perspective.

Conflicts over Natural Resources focuses on four major controversies: minerals, oil, and natural gas drilling; protected areas policy; range land management; and timber and forests. On the global level, the work also explores issues surrounding diamonds and precious metals, forest destruction, and water scarcity. For students, professionals, and lay readers alike, this book offers a thorough and balanced grounding in both the problems surrounding resource management and the successful strategies for resolution.