Photo by Annabel Daldry
Article by Annabel Daldry and Dan Fletcher.
This month we have policy updates from beyond Tetbury that still affect us here.
'Water, water, everywhere - and not a drop to drink'
And if we swim, surf, or row etc, we're at risk of getting very sick. Aquatic wildlife is gasping for survival - and often losing the battle.
Last month, more than 15,000 people, from various organisations, joined Fergal Sharkey and Chris Packham in London for the March for Clean Water. The protest asked the government to tackle water pollution. Privatisation of the management of water and waste has caused huge problems, with shareholders benefitting from the profits accrued from our water bills - rather than the money being invested for public benefit into regular upgrades and expansions of our sewage systems.
Subsequently water companies have been ‘allowed’ to pollute our rivers, streams, and sea - because the current infrastructure can't cope, with terrible consequences for biodiversity – and not forgetting - our quality of life. Things have worsened with climate change and the extremes in weather we're all acquainted with these days. We also need
new reservoirs to accommodate population increases and mitigate for drought. Prepare to stump up again for what should have been done all along! In my book this counts as a rip off.
Harmful Algal Blooms
Sewage effluent, including agricultural run-off, increases nitrogen and phosphorous in our waterways. This encourages harmful algal blooms (HABs). The HABs become toxic, kill fish, mammals and birds, and cause illness in humans. Low levels of dissolved oxygen are in the water. The blooms use photosynthesis in the day and take in oxygen at night (respiration). Light is blocked from the water. Insects disappear. A river becomes a barren stretch of water, making its way to an increasingly compromised sea. Things need to change as soon as possible.
CAN Bill action
Part of the solution is to lock in legal protection for our natural world. Roz Savage, MP for South Cotswolds, is taking a lead with a private members bill for the Climate And Nature Act. She will be debating this motion for its second reading on 24 January 2025 and needs 102 MPs from all political parties to vote in favour. See www.zerohours.uk/ The recent events in Spain are a shocking reminder of the devastating effects of climate change.
Good COP Bad COP
It has been a tale of two COPs recently. COP16 in Colombia focused on
biodiversity. It succeeded in developing the link between nature and climate, and in agreeing money flows from those benefitting from biodiversity to those protecting it, especially indigenous communities, who are now represented on a decision-making advisory board. But the pace of change is still slow and lacks urgency. Over in Azerbaijan, COP29 on climate has had a less than auspicious start with its president being implicated in negotiations for oil rights.
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