The Fraser Basin Initiative and integrated water resource management as a model for river basin management globally.

Freshwater resources above and below ground worldwide are deteriorating due to overconsumption and abuse. In the wake of this increasing deterioration, Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has come to the fore as a leading process for dealing with freshwater management issues. The Fraser Basin Council (FBC), a river basin management organization in British Columbia, Canada, has been asked to present their basin management model, which operates on IWRM principles, to different countries around the globe through their International Outreach Program. Through reviewing the tenets of IWRM, the various aspects of the FBC, and select freshwater indicators in the Fraser Basin, this thesis analyzes whether the FBC is effective at managing the Fraser River Basin, and if the RBC process is applicable to other basins. Our findings indicate that although the FBC is somewhat effective at managing the Fraser Basin, the FBC model is not necessarily applicable to other basins given the FBC's lack of authority to enforce its own decisions and its reliance on government and stakeholders for action and enforcement. --P. ii.