Initiative aims to 'protect every inch' of river

A new guardianship initiative will aim to protect "every single inch" of the River Thames, according to a charity boss.

Friends of the Thames (FOTT) chief executive Laura Reineke said the new River Guardians initiative aimed to ensure that every patch of the river "from source to sea" is looked after by an individual, community or group.

The programme will launch on Thursday 22 May, and Ms Reineke said its ultimate aim was to get the river granted personhood status in law, giving it the same legal rights as a person - something that New Zealand recently did for its Mount Taranaki.

She said the initiative was about addressing the threats to the River Thames as well as reconnecting communities to it.

"We would like to be able to connect communities back to the river and we see this as a good way of doing that, as well as safeguarding all the biodiversity - that is declining at a rate of five times that of land based species," she said.

The initiative is a collaboration between FOTT and environmental barrister Paul Powlesland.

"He was already a guardian for his patch of the river that he lives on, and our aim is to fill all the gaps of the guardian system in the Thames so that every single inch of the Thames is protected," said Ms Reineke.

River guardians would be responsible for mapping the area, testing water quality, and tracking invasive species, as well as acting as a central point for coordinating other environmental work.

"Our eventual aim through this system would be to get the river a personhood in law, so she would have human rights the same as you or I," said Ms Reineke.

"That's what we feel we need to do in this country to reconnect people to the wildlife and the nature, so that they care for it and we can see a return of all the declining populations."

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