The Fraser Basin Council (FBC) was established in 1997 as a unique non-governmental, not-for-profit, non-partisan organization. Its mandate is to ensure that the decisions we make now about how we live, work and play in the Fraser Basin will protect and advance its social, economic, and environmental sustainability into the future.
For more than a decade, the FBC has established a solid track record of getting people together to find practical, common sense solutions to long-standing issues. The FBC has proven that a more effective, potent and sustainable kind of leadership emerges when diverse interests coalesce around core values, and when consensus and joint action are chosen over confrontation and inaction.
The FBC was founded on the belief that the major river management priorities for the Fraser Basin cannot be effectively addressed by any one jurisdiction. Indeed, the reason so many contentious issues have remained unresolved – in some cases for up to 50 years – is that the people and agencies with the abilities and resources to solve the problems have been working in isolation from each other and other sectors of society.
The FBC has helped change the approach to managing the entire Basin by focusing on new ways of doing business that address the need to integrate the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability. In addition, the FBC considers the needs of the entire Basin rather than those of any single jurisdiction, interest, organization or individual. In all of its activities, the FBC remains, first and foremost, an advocate for the sustainability of the entire Basin.
To achieve its goals, the FBC acts as an impartial, trusted facilitator operating under a unique model of collaborative leadership that is inherently open, informed, inclusive and flexible. A 36 member Board of Directors oversees the work of the FBC and sets strategic priorities. Under this model, FBC Directors from four orders of Canadian government, the private sector and civil society work together as equals to tackle big issues, overcome conflict, find common ground, make informed and responsible decisions, generate long-term solutions to complex issues and take advantage of opportunities to enhance sustainability "on the ground."
Support for the Board is provided by an Executive Director and staff in five regional offices who collectively have wide-ranging expertise in group facilitation, life sciences, planning, communications and business. To ensure that it has a regional presence and is addressing important issues from all parts of the Basin, the FBC has established Regional Committees and offices in each of the Basin's five sub-regions – Upper Fraser, Cariboo-Chilcotin, Thompson, Fraser Valley and Greater Vancouver Sea to Sky.
Dialogue leading to consensus on action is guided by the FBC's Charter for Sustainability , a ground-breaking agreement signed by public and private sector interests. The Charter provides the vision, principles, directions and goals that collectively support a sustainable future for the Basin.