DOES A RIVER HAVE RIGHTS ?  IS A RIVER ALIVE ?

I’m a fisherman, I swim in it, I’ve kayaked on it, I love being around it…  Like many folks living by rivers,  I grew up appreciating it - lifting stones to see white clawed crayfish, elvers, larvae (stone flies, caddis, dragonfly, damselfly, mayfly).  Over the last couple of decades I’ve witnessed a decline in many aquatic species and an invasion by non-native species of both plants and animals.  The river seems unwell and, because I regard it as a friend, an entity, who has always supported me and my mental well-being, I want to advocate for it.  I’m sure I’m not the only person who feels like this.

Under a recently adopted charter, the river (Wye) has gained “cross-border rights to flow, biodiversity, freedom from pollution, catchment health, regeneration and legal representation.”  The River Wye has numerous rivers and tributaries that feed into it along its 135-mile journey, flowing from its source in mid-Wales down to the Severn Estuary.  Unfortunately, the rights afforded to the river Wye do not also apply to the river Teme… at the moment.

Fortunately, since 1996, the river Teme was designated as a Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI) along its entire length.  This was originally “due to its near-natural, biologically rich condition and high water quality”. Recently, statutory monitoring found elevated bacteriological concentrations.

An SSSI “is a formal conservation designation used in the UK to protect areas of land or water that are of particular interest to science due to rare species of fauna or flora, important habitats, or significant geological and geomorphological features.”  As an SSSI, river Teme is regarded as a highly protected mudstone and sandstone river supporting a diverse range of rare and vulnerable plants and animals.  Then why, with all the pollution and extraction, does it seem to not be being “highly protected”?

If the river Wye community has now set a precedent for their river’s rights,  who will advocate for the river Teme?  This is the Teme’s 30th year as a SSSI, to celebrate this and support this river, please sign this petition and become a river Teme advocate with me.  We can use this petition to exert pressure on local and national authorities to help this river return to good health all the way from its source in the Kerry Hills near Dolfor, including all of its tributaries, to its confluence with the river Severn below Worcester.

Thank you