Radical new plan could reverse freshwater crisis in a decade
23rd April 2025
The UK’s rivers, ponds, lakes, streams and wetlands are in crisis, but a national conservation charity has unveiled a bold new plan to reverse the decline in freshwater wildlife within just 10 years.
Freshwater Habitats Trust has today (23rd April 2025) launched its vision for the Freshwater Network, a science-based strategy to build a cleaner, more connected, network of habitats for wildlife. Now, at a critical time for the future of freshwater, the charity is calling on other organisations to join the effort.
One in four UK freshwater plant and animal species is now classed as rare or threatened and almost all rivers, lakes and small freshwaters are impacted by pollution. According to Freshwater Habitats Trust, adopting the Freshwater Network could double the extent of unpolluted freshwater habitats and achieve an increase in species that are currently rare or declining by 2035.
The Freshwater Network turns on its head the current focus on cleaning up polluted and degraded habitats. Instead, it prioritises protecting the best remaining sites, then building out from these strongholds to reconnect landscapes and create a network of high-quality waterbodies for freshwater plants and animals.
Freshwater Habitats Trust CEO Professor Jeremy Biggs said: “Life in freshwater is under severe threat. These habitats are among the most vulnerable part of the natural world and, despite efforts to clean up pollution, species continue to decline.
“Most freshwater plants and animals rely on a network of different habitats, yet current regulations – and most conservation efforts – treat rivers, lakes, ponds or wetlands in isolation.
“The Freshwater Network is a radical new approach, based on rigorous research and conservation experience. By protecting the best places first, then expanding from there, we can create a better future for freshwater, in which rich and diverse freshwaters once again become the norm, not a rare exception.
“Reversing the decline in freshwater biodiversity within a decade is ambitious, but we firmly believe we can achieve it if people work together to follow the principles set out in the Freshwater Network.”
A key part of the strategy is shifting attention to small waters and wetlands, which make up 80% of the freshwater environment. Research shows that, collectively, these small habitats support greater biodiversity – including more rare and threatened species – than large waterbodies. Yet current approaches largely ignore them.
To address the pollution crisis, the Freshwater Network exploits a special property of small waterbodies to bring clean water back to the landscape: they can be created and restored in areas where they can be completely protected from pollution.
Research has shown that focusing on small waters can achieve results far more quickly than is possible on larger waters, which may be exposed to hundreds or thousands of pollution sources and take decades to clean up.
- Stream in Dartmoor National Park, Devon
Freshwater Habitats Trust first began developing and testing the Freshwater Network approach more than 10 years ago. Since then, it has successfully piloted the Freshwater Network concept in some of the most effective freshwater conservation projects. Over that time, the charity has worked with its partners to identify 24 Important Freshwater Landscapes in England and Wales. From the Scottish borders to mid-Cornwall, these regions support nationally significant concentrations of freshwater wildlife and are rich in threatened plants and animals.
The next phase will focus on protecting and building out from these biodiversity hotspots to create a national network of high-quality freshwater habitats.
Organisations already working with Freshwater Habitats Trust to build the Freshwater Network include the National Trust, Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, the Environment Agency and private landowners across England and Wales.