Restoring Welsh Rivers

Creation Care Officer Marcus Zipperlen reports from the summit meeting called by the Archbishop of Wales

Aware of the very poor condition of Welsh rivers, Archbishop Andy John saw an opportunity for the Church in Wales, as a trusted and neutral organisation present in every corner of the country, to convene a gathering of those with an active involvement in our rivers, from scientists to policy makers, charities, farmers and community groups, to discuss the problems and seek ways to overcome them.

The problem

We heard of the causes of our dying rivers with two thirds of pollution coming from farming and one third from towns and people; how the real culprits are intensive dairy farming and factory chicken units. We heard how the principal pollutant is the phosphorus widely used in agriculture as a fertiliser, as well as occurring in sewage and animal slurries.

We also heard how rising temperatures are killing off our native Atlantic Salmon because they only hatch in cool water, and how rising concentrations of pharmaceutical chemicals are causing problems downstream of towns. Perhaps, above all, we learned how the problems of our beleaguered rivers are complex, intertwined, and operate across political and administrative boundaries, requiring us to respond on the basis of whole river catchments.

The solution?

Discussion next turned to some of the solutions to these problems. How can we reduce the addition of new phosphorus to land through better application of soil science, and by reclaiming and re-using phosphorus from slurries and sewage? We learned how current agricultural economics drives farmers to ever greater intensification to be profitable because only one penny in every pound spent on food finds its way back into their pockets, how this pushes farmers to increase the number of animals on their land, or build factory poultry units.

We explored how new agricultural subsidies designed to support sustainable land management as much as food production are just beginning to change farm economics for the better. And we heard from some farmers valiantly caring for their land and reducing pollution despite unfavourable economics.

There was a spirited articulation of how wetlands are excellent removers of pollutants and how restoring wooded river margins could really help; and how Welsh Water is spending billions over the next five years to upgrade their wastewater works, and how they are so much more open with their information than the private utilities in England.

Encouragingly, the first minster Eluned Morgan briefly addressed the conference and asked us to give her our top five actions to help Welsh rivers, so the next step is to sift what was discussed and do just that.

See a full report from the summit here: https://www.churchinwales.org.uk/en/about-us/our-campaigns/restoring-welsh-rivers-summit/