by Anne von Osterhausen, Mossy Earth

The UK boasts an approximate 7,600km of navigable canals and rivers and as much as 240,000km of rivers and streams throughout. 161 of the UK’s rivers and streams are classified as chalk streams - a unique and extremely nutrient rich source of clean drinking water that are born in underground chalk aquifers and springs, and provide an ideal breeding ground for abundant wildlife, making up an 85% of all chalk streams worldwide.

Rivers and waterways are what gives the UK it’s green and lush self. They are foundation for cities, towns, and villages, give water to drink, grow the food, and provide infrastructure and transport facilities. They are one of the most important natural features that give character and uniqueness to the land.

2020 has seen unprecedented growth in paddle and water recreational sports in many places around the world. Lockdown has put fresh air and free movement in the countryside onto the map of urban dwellers. The more of us are enjoying these wonderful waterways for leisure purposes, the more important it becomes to look after them, as the healthier they are, the better experience we can enjoy.

Researching about the current state of UK rivers and waterways is similarly as eye-opening and disheartening as doing so on any other topic related to climate change. Recent flood catastrophes in Germany, Belgium and China have brought this topic to the front of many peoples’ minds. Have you ever wondered what flows down the river near your house? And why this matters at all?

The Environment Agency (EA) – a UK executive non-departmental public body assesses and categorises all UK waterways regularly to support sustainable development and facilitate working towards the government suggested goal that by 2027 75% of all waterways are to be rated as in ‘good’ health conditions.

There have been many improvements in pollutants of the waterways recorded since the 90s such as ammonia levels, phosphates, and toxic metals (copper, lead, cadmium, and mercury). In addition, water pollution incidents have been reduced quite drastically, and those improvements have gone hand in hand with an increase in wildlife like snails, worms and insects and reduction of artificial barriers to fish and other wildlife. Those are the good news.

The 2020 EA report however shows that in fact only 14% of rivers are of good ecological standard to date. To add to this, there has been no improvement made since 2009 (which, in parts is also due to stricter testing criteria). The biggest impacts on river quality are pollution from sewage discharge – which accounts to 36% of damage, chemical discharge from industry and agricultural run-off – which is responsible for 40% of pollution. Although nitrate levels had decreased over the last 20 years, they started rising again over the past couple; nitrate comes mainly from agricultural fertilizers and the dairy sector (manure) and can cause excessive growth of some plants and algae, which takes oxygen out of the water and kills off wildlife.

It is said that the quality of England’s rivers and streams were the worst in Europe as of 2020, worse even than Scottish (65.7% in ‘good’ condition) and Welsh (64% in ‘good’ condition) waterways.

Sewage Discharge

There could be more enticing topics to talk about than sewage. The information that in 2019, more than 200,000 incidents of raw sewage was released into rivers by water companies does not make it any more appetising. In line with EA permissions, water companies release untreated human waste from storm overflows to control the flooding of homes after extreme weather events such as torrential rains. The EA reported 7,600 pollution incidents in 2019, caused by water/ sewage companies and farmers. Following the recent floods in Germany, Belgium and China and forecasts that severe weather conditions such as floods (just as much as extreme heat waves like in Canada or bushfires like in Australia) will only rise, we can only imagine how this may influence the 2027 target.

Why carbon capture isn’t the answer

It should be agreed on that urgent action is required to lower our carbon emissions and to remove the CO2 from industry use and the atmosphere to halt or reverse global warming. Carbon can be utilised to generate new products, materials, chemicals, and fuels using chemical reactions, and it can be stored in our forests, algae or underground, where it can enhance oil production. There are at least 10 different methods of storing and utilising CO2, which all have different methodologies, carbon capture capacities and costs attached to them.

 Innovative carbon capture technologies are of interest to fossil fuel industry because when successful they can generate products (such as hydrogen to fuel airplanes, concrete for building materials or urea to use as fertilizers) and new streams of revenues – ultimately meaning that society can continue consuming. Early 2021, Elon Musk offered U$D100 million in technology prizes for scalable carbon capture methods, that will prove more success than conventional-to-date methods that have not even scratched the surface: to date (in 2020), about 40 megatons of Carbon dioxide are captured before being released into the atmosphere and are mostly stored underground. Having released 20 gigatons in the same year, this makes a capture of about a 0.04% of the carbon we are releasing into the atmosphere by our use.

One of carbon capture’s alternatives that is already available to us and does not need innovative technologies is mother nature. Through photosynthesis, trees capture carbon dioxide and transform it into oxygen. Trees can store a lot of carbon dioxide for a long time (the United States’ forests can sequester up to around 16% of US annual emissions), but ultimately will either release it back into the atmosphere when they die and decompose a few hundred years later or continue locking the carbon in if they will be developed into building materials. To manage carbon storage effectively, trees and forests require planting, harvest, and maintenance management on appropriate landscape to ensure a continuous balance of capturing, storing, and releasing it.

Should planting trees be the way forward to halt global warming? Just like with anything in life, it is hard to give black-or-white answer to this question. Critics argue that using trees only for carbon capture cannot be scalable and sufficient for industry level emissions. The solution to consume less (i.e., buy less products that generate CO2 along their lifecycle) and thus release less CO2 into the atmosphere seems common sense and the ideal for some, but let’s face it: not everyone will stop flying, calculate their carbon footsteps, move out of the city, grow their own food following the permaculture principles, ditch their TVs and smartphones, wear second-hand clothes, or go clean energy.

At least in the short or medium term, and in our globalised world, there is the need for expensive but profitable alternatives that investors can utilise to generate revenues. Carbon capture technologies are not ‘the’ answer, but they are one of them anyway. At this point in time, we need urgent action, and a lot of it. If companies or individuals like Elon Musk decide to invest their cash into innovation rather than trees, they should throw their egg into this basket for sure. If we genuinely want to invest in our resilience and diversity however, to generate security and stability for the future, rewilding must be part of the solution.

Why rewilding is needed to fight climate change

Just like there is more than one way to capture carbon emissions, there are several important reasons why rewilding should be one of them:

Rewilding on land, in our rivers and oceans is essential to enhance biodiversity. Ultimately, we need biodiversity to secure our health and future food supply. Thanks to the climate crisis, the need to increase resilience, adaptability and flexibility is becoming more urgent than ever and rewilding can provide additional solutions to the carbon capture technologies being invented.

Often, rewilding is perceived as simply planting trees to make up for deforestation around the globe, but there is so much more to it. If we restored the natural landscapes destroyed by human exploitation around the planet, and protected those that are still there, we could capture a substantial amount of carbon emissions generated by us humans and turn around much of the damage done at the same time. Peatlands, wetlands, oceans, rivers, and savannahs for example are equally important habitats for wildlife and carbon storage as are our forests. Protecting and rewilding our waterways secures our drinking water supply, free carbon sinks by the flora in and around it, and living space for insects, fish and other beings that provide health, wellbeing, and food to all of us.

The pandemic has brought along a movement out of the cities and into nature, on our search to find wellbeing in these times of uncertainty and lockdowns. Newcomers to the great outdoors often bring with them an involuntary ignorance as to how to treat and respect wildlife and nature. Guidance is needed to give people the opportunity to follow the good example. Rewilding nature will ensure optimal conditions to offer us people places to enjoy and enhance our experiences, which in addition can generate sustainable revenue for businesses and communities.

The benefits nature offers us are abundant – clean air, fertile soil, fresh water, all essential for our humans’ health and wellbeing. We must collaborate to assist in providing the best circumstances for nature to thrive, so that we can all mutually benefit.

Rewilding is a positive and proactive act – it can be done by all of us, at any point in time. We may not have U$D100 million available to donate to innovative technologies, but everyone with a little patch of green can plant native flowers to attract bees and other insects. It is time for small acts of activism by all of us, rather than blaming governments and big companies for making mistakes or not prioritising the right way. Let’s not wait for others to generate change but get the ball rolling in our realm of influence.

Success Stories

Now, let’s look at the actual benefits of rewilding, and some success stories.

• Beavers, the millions of years old species, that was hunted for its fur, scent glands and meat was extinguished in Britain in the Middle Ages. Today, there are slow but steady efforts to reintroducing our largest European rodent back onto British lands. Compared to approximately 35,000 beavers roaming around Germany and 125,000 around Poland, the current population of an estimated 550 may not seem more than a drop onto hot stone, but it is a start and conservationists are being hopeful of populations rising further. Beavers are known as trophic cascade species, as they directly and indirectly impact a multitude of flora and fauna around them, essentially impacting our wellbeing greatly as well. Beaver dams not only slow down waterflow, reducing the risk of flooding downstream, they can trap agricultural run-off and therefore prevent polluted water from running downstream and can help retain water for times of draught. To top it off, by piling up organic materials in their dam structures and thus creating wetlands, beavers help to store a substantially larger amount of carbon than other dry areas do. Sounds like beavers could be a real solution to many challenges we are facing right now! More than that, they do not eat other animals, birds, fish, and other creatures love seeking shelter in their dams. In fact, salmon are found to be growing faster and become much stronger and healthier when around beaver dams. It is exciting to see this furry creature slowly reappearing especially in the Tay and River Forth catchments in Scotland, as well as the River Otter in Devon to collaborate with nature and create habitats for others around.

• Atlantic salmon and sea trout migrate from their birthplace in freshwater streams to the Atlantic Ocean to feed and grow before they return to their birthplace to spawn. On their way back home, they play their part in supporting the ecosystem by transporting valuable nutrients, feeding birds of prey and the Eurasian Otter. Increased aquaculture along the Irish West Coast has introduced sea lice to salmon population, hugely impacting their migration, population and all the benefits they bring to their neighbours. Thanks to recent efforts and collaboration between Salmon Watch Ireland and Mossy Earth, surveillance cameras are placed to monitor levels of infestation and movement, which is the first step in aiding the return of salmon to their natural habitat. Read more about this Irish salmon rewilding project here.

How to get involved in rewilding

Here are some simple steps we can all take to help boost local and global biodiversity.

• Rewild your own garden: choosing to have native wildflowers in your garden will attract a range of species, providing them with habitats as well as being a source of food for species. Learn more on how to rewild your garden and enjoy nature from the comfort of your own home.

• Contact your local council: make your voice heard and matter by informing local authorities of your views on rewilding topics. Whether they are large or small-scale rewilding interventions, such as the reintroduction of keystone species (i.e beavers in the UK) or simply requesting roadside verges to be left uncut, your concern raises awareness between policymakers. Find out why writing to your local representative is an effective method plus more strategies for change in our Climate Action guide.

• Volunteer/Support your local wildlife trust or conservation organisations: become involved in community initiatives that invest in native plants and trees to encourage local wildlife to return. Further afield, you can contribute to organisations fighting to protect and restore areas of habitation loss for wildlife.

• Become a Mossy Earth member: if you want to support our projects that are solely dedicated to seeing the return of flora and fauna and ensuring it’s protection, become a member and start funding rewilding interventions around the world today. From the protection of Slovakia’s turtles to helping human-wolf coexistence in Portugal, learn more about our rewilding projects as well as our many large-scale reforestation projects.