The BC Visibility Coordinating Committee (BCVCC) works with stakeholders to develop a visual air quality protection and improvement program for British Columbia.  Formed in 2006, the BCVCC is a collaborative venture between B.C. Ministry of Environment, Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley Regional District, Environment Canada and Health Canada.

Follow the links below for more information on Canadian and international visual air quality improvement initiatives.

• One study estimates that a single poor-visual air quality event in the Lower Fraser Valley can result in a loss in future tourism revenue of 9 million dollars.  Environment Canada, July 2000.
• The importance of visual air quality is emphasized in Metro Vancouver's Integrated Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Management Plan.
• The U.S. National Parks Service has developed an Introduction to Visibility.

The work of the BCVCC has advanced on several fronts with expanded and improved visual air quality monitoring and modelling, enhancement of the ClearAirBC website, public launch of the visual air quality rating and the development of a stakeholder engagement plan. The 2015 BCVCC Annual report provide further details.

Additional work is reflected in the following documents:

• The Economic Benefits of Improving Visual Air Quality in British Columbia’s Lower Fraser Valley. British Columbia Visibility Coordinating Committee, August 2015.
• Summary of the Health and Economic Benefits of Visibility Improvements in the Lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia. British Columbia Visibility Coordinating Committee, July 2015
• Visibility Perception in the Lower Fraser Valley, BC.  University of British Columbia, June 2011.
• BC Visibility Coordinating Committee Workshop.  Context Research Ltd., April 2010.
• Mountains that See, and that Need to Be Seen: Aboriginal Perspectives on Degraded Visibility Associated with Air Pollution in the BC Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley.  Keith Thor Carlson, May 2009.
• Establishing a Visibility Goal for Wilderness and Urban Areas in British Columbia and Canada. RWDI AIR Inc., March 2008.
• The View Ahead: Identifying Options for a Visibility Management Framework for British Columbia. Jacques Whitford AXYS, July 2007.
• The View Ahead: Managing Visibility in B.C. - Report from a multi-stakeholder workshop to identify visibility issues and management options. June 2007.

Learn more about visual air quality in these fact sheets:

• An Introduction to Visual Air Quality
• Measuring Visual Air Quality
• The Science of Visual Air Quality
• Emissions that Impact Visual Air Quality
• How Weather Affects Visual Air Quality
• Why Should We Care About Visual Air Quality?
• The British Columbia Visibility Coordinating Committee