Rugeley Riverside Park © Staffordshire Wildlife Trust
Rivers 2040: The Great River Re-set
Charting a course to recovery for our rivers
Rivers and their floodplains are wonderful, wild and essential habitats. In their natural state, rivers tame floods, store and supply water, provide vital habitats for wildlife and offer places for people to come together and enjoy nature.
Yet they are at risk.
Housing and other developments have swallowed floodplains and rivers have been straightened and contained. Agricultural runoff, sewage, plastics and pollution choke our waterways. People and wildlife are suffering as a result.
We need to turn things around.
We need bold action that provides clean water for people and habitat for wildlife, stores water for periods of drought, and protects homes and businesses from flooding.
A vision for our rivers
By 2040 we want our relationship with rivers to be transformed. Wet woodlands will spill across floodplains, which are quietly protecting cities, towns and villages. Reedbeds and fens will store carbon in their deep saturated soils. Beavers will move through the shallows, reshaping the landscape, as bitterns boom across the wetlands.
We want to see beautiful, wilder river landscapes that allow communities to have access to nature on their doorsteps, support food production and industry and have natural processes reinstated.
This vision of the future will be possible if we build systems that focus on nature.
Watch A River Speaks
Our immersive new film A Rivers Speaks gives a voice to our special rivers. Starring Line of Duty actor Vicky McClure as The River, the film follows the River Trent from source to sea, showcasing the conservationists, farmers, schoolchildren and communities working to restore its health and reconnect people with the river.
Mapping the benefits of river restoration
At the heart of England flows one of its great rivers: the River Trent. Carving a 350-kilometre arc through the Midlands, it sustains around six million people. But human pressures including development, pollution, habitat loss and extreme weather are placing the area under strain. It is ripe for large-scale restoration.
The Rivers 2040 project from The Wildlife Trusts, Trent Rivers Trust and Intact Insurance has mapped and analysed the economic, environmental and societal benefits of restoring nature along the river.
Key findings
Mike Symes / Devon Wildlife Trust
© Durham Wildlife Trust
River Severn © Luke Neal
©Gillian Day
The River Trent case study demonstrates the positive impacts of restoring the Trent Valley at scale, for nature, people and the economy, alongside the support needed to do so.
It would cost an average of £43 million a year for the next 30 years to properly restore the Trent - and this investment would return seven times the economic benefit.
The Rivers 2040 Programme aims to be a blueprint for English river restoration and a prototype for the wider UK. We want to see a future where working with nature to manage water is a principle woven into the fabric of society, with rivers thriving, valued, and visible. To achieve this vision, there are four core areas of change needed.
Nature-based solutions at scale
Without urgent action, by 2050 in England alone one in four properties could be at risk of flooding. And we could see a 6-billion-litre daily water shortfall by 2055.
Nature-based solutions address societal challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, health and water security, by restoring and managing ecosystems to benefit both people and the environment.
By leveraging nature-based solutions the Rivers 2040 Vision sets out how we can work together to deliver:
- Enhanced flood and drought protection
- The return of keystone species and resilient ecosystems
- Cleaner, safer water
- Healthier communities with better access to nature
In 2040 this would mean nature-based solutions sit at the core of how we manage water. Floodplain reconnection is prioritised in delivery plans. Natural flood management is funded as a primary solution and not an afterthought. Engineers, local authorities and communities have embraced these nature-based approaches, supported by training, guidance and a growing body of demonstrator projects that have made the evidence undeniable.
Investment in nature as critical infrastructure
Nature is not a nice-to-have, it’s necessary. A nature-first approach to all development and flood risk management should be a guiding principle across all policy, prioritising natural solutions over hard infrastructure and end-of-pipe solutions. Developers must be held to robust accountability standards, engaging with nature recovery stakeholders from the earliest stages of project design, using a shared green vision and biodiversity metric. Nature-based solutions should be the first port of call in water company planning and flood risk management.
In 2040 this would mean existing plans and strategies are combined into one single national strategy for river restoration - the Room for Rivers Strategy. This strategy is translated into regional plans which follow natural, hydrological boundaries. The whole of each river is considered in this strategic approach so that the impact of any action taken in one part is considered across the catchment.
This approach ensures the most suitable locations are identified for nature-based interventions, or solutions: from restoring river meanders and removing weirs and barriers to reintroducing beavers, planting trees along riverbanks and reconnecting rivers to their floodplains.
A long-term water strategy
Clear, stable policy signals are needed to drive land use change and unlock investment in nature-based solutions. We need a water strategy to enable a truly integrated water management approach which manages rainfall, wastewater, flood risk and water resources together.
In 2040 this would mean the value, health and resilience of rivers is recognised in national, regional and local policy making. Funding is consolidated, governance is simplified, communities are at the heart of decision-making, regulatory hurdles addressed and nature markets have matured. The costs of inaction – increasing flood damage, biodiversity loss and declining ecosystem resilience - have been avoided.
Local control of water
Natural, hydrological boundaries should guide action across borders, catchments and downstream for coastal impacts to enable integrated water management and overcome siloed working between sectors and agencies. This requires creating and joining-up governance structures and aligned policies, through powerful new Regional Water Authorities, given devolved powers to fix pollution and restore rivers and led by elected mayors for democratic accountability.
In 2040 this would mean water industry regulation has been reshaped around environmental outcomes. Business planning is informed by natural capital accounting, and water companies operate explicitly in the interests of public health and ecological benefit. Agricultural pollution to rivers has been reduced by 75%, achieved through extensive buffer strips, a focus on soil health and farm businesses that have embedded integrated pest management and nutrient management as standard practice. This will have been achieved by local leadership through powerful Regional Water Authorities, accountable to the public.
The opportunity is now
From the sources of our settlements thousands of years ago, to objects of neglect and misuse, and back to respected and integral parts of our lives: that’s the course we want to set for the future of our rivers. We have the opportunity, now, to be courageous, change course and move towards prosperity, resilience and the restoration of rivers as the essence of our natural world – bringing benefits for wildlife and people alike.
The Great River Re-set: Read the vision
Explore wetland projects in need of investment
Rivers 2040 sets out an ambitious vision for the future of the UK's rivers: healthier catchments that support thriving wildlife, climate resilient communities and sustainable economic growth.
Our prospectus brings that vision to life, showcasing investment and partnership opportunities from across The Wildlife Trusts that are ready to deliver measurable benefits for nature, climate, and people. These projects demonstrate the power of nature-based solutions to address some of society's most pressing challenges.
A collaborative project
The River Trent mapping project was a collaboration between Intact Insurance, Trent Rivers Trust and eight Wildlife Trusts. Travelling downstream, these Wildlife Trusts are:
- Birmingham & Black Country Wildlife Trust
- Warwickshire Wildlife Trust
- Staffordshire Wildlife Trust
- Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
- Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust
- Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust
- Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust
- Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Read the Rivers 2040 reports
Split level view of the River Itchen, with aquatic plants: Blunt-fruited Water-starwort (Callitriche obtusangula) Itchen Stoke Mill is visible on the left. England: Hampshire, Ovington, May - Linda Pitkin/2020VISION