Resource-based industries and businesses will continue to provide considerable economic value, especially in rural areas. Major challenges facing these sectors are the need to manage resources to ensure sustainability and to meet increasingly stringent environmental standards in export markets. Pressures on the land base are increasing for both consumptive and protection-oriented uses such as resource extraction, hunting and other outdoor recreation, wildlife and habitat, ecotourism, and conservation of natural areas. These sectors should also continue efforts to add more value to resources to provide greater economic benefits. To remain competitive and to meet increasingly stringent environmental requirements, the resource industries will have to continue to adopt new technologies, which in turn will have training implications for those employed in these sectors.
Agriculture is a solid foundation of the province s rural economy, where it is a major employer.
It is increasingly a highly diversified science and technology-based industry. The sector faces many issues, including in the areas of land use, water quality and quantity, lending and investment, and education and training to keep abreast of a knowledge-intensive global business. Tourism and culture . Nova Scotia s tourism and culture sectors have established a strong presence in the provincial economy, contributing to economic growth and quality of life. There is tremendous potential to build on this success and the emerging opportunities of these industries to stimulate growth in all regions.