Wildlife at risk as UK's rivers dry out
02nd May 2010
Voles, otters and kingfishers under threat
Britain's rivers are under serious threat. Many are below their usual levels for the time of year and the need to conserve our rivers and reduce water demand has never been stronger.
With climate change, population growth and the demand for housing set to have significant impacts on river flows the future does not look bright for many of England's best loved rivers.
The WWF has launched Riverside Tales to help protect the UK's wildlife.
This week, conservation organisation WWF-UK launches Riverside Tales, a new report that looks at the worrying future for some of the UK's unique chalk streams. It warns of immediate threats to wildlife such as water voles, otters, salmon and kingfishers caused by taking too much water from these waterways. It calls for a consistent approach to making sure water use is within sustainable limits.
all water companies now have an obligation to deliver water efficiency, the policies for protecting our rivers are effectively bound by out of date licensing rules that do not reflect the needs of rivers.
Ecosystems in a third of river catchments are under threat because abstraction and licence levels are too high, say WWF. The wildlife organisation's report focuses on the discrepancies in the fortunes of the Itchen in Hampshire, the upper Kennet in Wiltshire and the tributary rivers of the Upper Lee - the Mimram and the Beane in Hertfordshire and offers lessons for rivers around the country.
"All the water we use is taken from the natural environment, and as water scarcity becomes a bigger issue in the UK, the framework for how we manage water resources in England and Wales must be changed. Reducing unsustainable abstraction will require strong leadership from government, water regulators, and water companies." said Rose Timlett, freshwater policy and programme officer, WWF-UK.
Funding is needed to protect wildlife
Of the three river catchment areas the future looks brightest for the Itchen - home to many protected and increasingly rare native species such as the white-clawed crayfish and southern damselfly - as the there are plans to install water meters over the next five years, helping to keep millions of litres of water in the river.
But the same cannot be said for the other rivers. Despite the Environment Agency and water companies agreeing to reduce over-abstraction, funding has not yet been secured to deliver it. There are no plans to significantly reduce the amount of water people use even though water consumption around the Mimran and the Beane rivers is amongst the highest in the country.
WWF is calling for all damaging abstraction licences to be amended or revoked by 2020. The government must work with regulators, water companies and local communities to become more water efficient, stop our rivers from drying out and protect our native wildlife.
Britain's rivers are under serious threat. Many are below their usual levels for the time of year and the need to conserve our rivers and reduce water demand has never been stronger.
With climate change, population growth and the demand for housing set to have significant impacts on river flows the future does not look bright for many of England's best loved rivers.
The WWF has launched Riverside Tales to help protect the UK's wildlife.
This week, conservation organisation WWF-UK launches Riverside Tales, a new report that looks at the worrying future for some of the UK's unique chalk streams. It warns of immediate threats to wildlife such as water voles, otters, salmon and kingfishers caused by taking too much water from these waterways. It calls for a consistent approach to making sure water use is within sustainable limits.
all water companies now have an obligation to deliver water efficiency, the policies for protecting our rivers are effectively bound by out of date licensing rules that do not reflect the needs of rivers.
Ecosystems in a third of river catchments are under threat because abstraction and licence levels are too high, say WWF. The wildlife organisation's report focuses on the discrepancies in the fortunes of the Itchen in Hampshire, the upper Kennet in Wiltshire and the tributary rivers of the Upper Lee - the Mimram and the Beane in Hertfordshire and offers lessons for rivers around the country.
"All the water we use is taken from the natural environment, and as water scarcity becomes a bigger issue in the UK, the framework for how we manage water resources in England and Wales must be changed. Reducing unsustainable abstraction will require strong leadership from government, water regulators, and water companies." said Rose Timlett, freshwater policy and programme officer, WWF-UK.
Funding is needed to protect wildlife
Of the three river catchment areas the future looks brightest for the Itchen - home to many protected and increasingly rare native species such as the white-clawed crayfish and southern damselfly - as the there are plans to install water meters over the next five years, helping to keep millions of litres of water in the river.
But the same cannot be said for the other rivers. Despite the Environment Agency and water companies agreeing to reduce over-abstraction, funding has not yet been secured to deliver it. There are no plans to significantly reduce the amount of water people use even though water consumption around the Mimran and the Beane rivers is amongst the highest in the country.
WWF is calling for all damaging abstraction licences to be amended or revoked by 2020. The government must work with regulators, water companies and local communities to become more water efficient, stop our rivers from drying out and protect our native wildlife.
