  We introduce a general approximation scheme in order to calculate gauge
invariant observables in the canonical formulation of general relativity. Using
this scheme we will show how the observables and the dynamics of field theories
on a fixed background or equivalently the observables of the linearized theory
can be understood as an approximation to the observables in full general
relativity. Gauge invariant corrections can be calculated up to an arbitrary
high order and we will explicitly calculate the first non--trivial correction.
Furthermore we will make a first investigation into the Poisson algebra between
observables corresponding to fields at different space--time points and
consider the locality properties of the observables.
