Action to safeguard water catchments

HRH The Prince of Wales has lent his support to a declaration aimed at bringing sectors and organisations together to improve management of the UK’S water catchments.

“I am under no illusions about the scale of the challenge,” he told delegates at the summit organised by the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) at Moreton in Marsh in May. “The declaration refers to a step change and that is absolutely what is required because the situation is serious.”

M&S, Nestlé and Coca-cola – plus Anglian Water, Thames Water and Yorkshire Water

– are among the more than 50 businesses and organisations to have signed the declaration.

“Our rivers and wetlands provide a wide range of ecosystem services: they are the pre-eminent wildlife corridors; places of great beauty; important for many varieties of recreation and tourism; and the source of water for human consumption, agriculture and business. Yet, if we are honest, they are neither in good shape for most of these activities, nor are they resilient to the increasing demands of climate change and population growth,” said Prince Charles.

He added that more involvement from water companies “is essential” but there also needs to be active participation from regulators, Government and local authorities.

The urgent need to halt declines of fish, particularly in Welsh rivers, was highlighted by the GWCT at a meeting of members of the Welsh Assembly in June.

Dylan Roberts, GWCT head of fisheries, said in the 1980s and ’90s sea-trout were worth an estimated £14m a year to the Welsh economy. Then, the River Tywi (pictured) supported an average rod catch of more than 6,000 sewin; since 2016, only 1,743 have been declared.

“The deterioration of our rivers is a crisis yet pollutants of the waterways don’t seem to be brought into account,” he said.