Presentation by David Marshal Executive Director of Fraser Basin Council, at Keepers of the Water VI in Fort Nelson, BC.

1. The Fraser Basin Council Experience
Keepers of the Water VI – September 2012

2. BC’s Fraser
River Basin

3. Home in the Fraser Basin
 One quarter of BC’s land mass
 80% of the provincial economy
 Home to 2.7 million people, 2 of every 3 people in BC
 At the heart is the Fraser and its network of tributaries
 This is one of the world’s greatest salmon river systems
 Aboriginal people have lived here for over 10,000 years
 In the last 200 years, the watershed has faced
unprecedented change

5. Concerns for the Fraser River Basin
 Declining fish stocks
 Water quality problems
 Limited sewage treatment
 Lack of coordination and planning

6. Emergence of the Council
 The Fraser River was one of three flagships chosen as a
focus under Canada’s Green Plan
 Fraser Basin Management Program was a new initiative
(1992-1997)
 Fraser Basin Council was the successor organization,
formed in 1997, with a mandate to advance sustainability in
the Basin
 FBC is a charitable non-profit that works to achieve
sustainability in the Fraser Basin and beyond

7. Our Touchstone: The Charter for Sustainability

8. The Fraser Basin Council Vision
Social well-being, supported by a vibrant
economy and sustained by a
healthy environment

9. Principles for Sustainability
• Mutual Dependence
• Accountability
• Equity
• Integration
• Adaptive Approaches
• Coordinated and Cooperative Efforts

10. Principles for Sustainability
• Open and Informed Decision Making
• Exercising Caution
• Managing Uncertainty
• Recognition
• Aboriginal Rights and Title
• Transition Takes Time

11. 4 Orders of Canadian Government:
Federal, Provincial, Local and First Nations
Private Sector
Civil Society

12. Board Structure
38-member Board:
• Federal Government (3)
• Provincial Government (3)
• Local Government (8)
• First Nations (8)
• Regional Civil Society Representatives (10)
• Basin-Wide Civil Society Representatives (4)
• Youth (1)
• Financial (1)

13. Roles of the Fraser Basin Council
• Sustainability educator
• Impartial convener / facilitator
• Catalyst
• Jurisdiction and conflict resolution agent
• Resource in support of informed dialogue
and decision-making

14. “Collaborative Leadership is a more effective,
potent and sustainable kind of leadership that
emerges when diverse interests coalesce around
core values, and when consensus and joint
action are chosen over confrontation and
inaction.”
- Jack Blaney, former Chair, Fraser Basin Council