A MAJOR new Charter recognising the Rights of the River Wye will be launched today (Sunday, May 24) at a public ceremony at The Warren, Hay-on-Wye, marking a significant moment in the growing Rights of Nature movement across the UK.

Believed to be the first full catchment River Charter in the UK and the first Rights of River framework for a Welsh river, the Charter has been developed collaboratively across the catchment and endorsed by councils and institutions including Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Powys and the Forest of Dean, alongside Bannau Brycheiniog National Park and the Wye Valley National Landscape. Powys and Monmouthshire County Councils are expected to confirm their support in the near future.

The Charter recognises the River Wye as a living ecosystem with intrinsic rights including the right to flow, biodiversity, regeneration and freedom from pollution. Supporters describe it as a development of national significance in the recognition of the rights of rivers and ecosystems.

The initiative forms part of a growing international Rights of Nature movement that is reshaping how ecosystems are recognised and protected in law and governance. The rights expressed in the Charter reflect protections already recognised across existing environmental legislation and regulation.

The River Wye has become a national symbol of both ecological decline and public demand for stronger environmental protection. The river remains under severe pressure from nutrient pollution, biodiversity loss, climate impacts and emerging pollutants.

The original proposal was tabled by Conservative councillor Elissa Swinglehurst, reflecting broad political support for stronger river protection and long-term stewardship of the Wye.

In 2025, ecologist Dr Louise Bodnar became the first appointed “Voice of the River Wye”, taking a formal voting seat on the Wye Catchment Nutrient Management Board to represent the river’s interests in official decision-making.