The environmental challenges facing London’s 600 kilometres of waterways are well documented. GiGL has helped shape the development of the Mayor of London’s ambitious Clean Rivers and Waterways Plan, which was launched in July, detailing actions needed over the next decade “to revive nature and restore public access to our city’s waterways to make every one of them clean, healthy and thriving”.
The Plan doesn’t shy away from the challenges – admitting to the current poor health of most of London’s waterways, including pollution from sewage spills and road run-off, invasive species and degraded and fragmented habitats. These all impact our rivers’ ability to perform their natural functions, and support diverse and resilient ecosystems. But change will happen through a partnership approach. 50 organisations have provided input, to create a shared plan, with 17 goals across four main themes:
- Water quality
- Nature
- Access
- Inclusion and engagement
Each had a working group of relevant organisations committing to an agreed 48 actions.
GiGL as an advisor and partner
As well as advising on one of the Plan’s working groups, GiGL were asked by the Greater London Authority (GLA) to help develop evidence-based goals for the Plan The (GLA) recognised that high-quality environmental data is essential for both delivery and measuring change. We will also lead on an action over the next couple of years to create a bespoke monitoring system. The Plan states that “every waterway and community is different, so delivery must be shaped by local evidence, local need and local opportunity”.
London’s waterways form an important network of habitats supporting a range of wildlife. Six chalk streams – a priority habitat – run through the city, and 115 fish species have been recorded in the tidal Thames after having been declared ecologically dead in the 1950s. When healthy, rivers and wetlands reduce flood risk, mitigate the urban heat island effect and provide a positive experience of nature.
Over the next ten years the plan aims to create and restore 550 hectares of waterway habitat, restore 80 kilometres of river, improve habitats for fish and other aquatic wildlife, re-re-establish water vole populations and create or restore 400 ponds across London. It will reconnect fragmented habitats and enable the return of native species. These aren’t random targets. The GLA asked GiGL to investigate our evidence-base, alongside external data resources, to determine what is feasible. We analysed GiGL’s Habitat Suitability Modelling for wet woodland, reedbeds and floodplain grazing marsh, intersecting them with locations identified as potential opportunity areas in London’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy.
Developing a Blue Habitat Mapper
Recognising that high-quality data is essential for tracking progress in nature recovery, GiGL will be leading an action to create a Blue Habitat Mapper. This will be a publicly accessible interactive map to monitor habitat creation and restoration across the capital, improving existing records, closing data gaps and integrating other key sources of information such as the London Local Nature Recovery Strategy, River Restoration Opportunity Map, the GLA City Intelligence Unit’s River Health Map and the Thames Estuary Partnership’s Roadmap to Climate Resilience.
We’re looking forward to working with the boroughs, GLA, Port of London Authority, Thames Estuary Partnership and other members of RiPL (Rivers in London Partnership) on this. By 2029 we hope to have improved the data flow of estuarine and freshwater data with these partners, as well as having instigated a programme of engagement with catchment partnerships and local groups to encourage data submission. We hope the mapper will support monitoring, reporting and future investment decisions.
One of the principles guiding delivery of the Plan is embedding equity and inclusion. This includes prioritising investment and engagement in areas with poor access to nature. The London Plan recommends that all Londoners are within a 1km walk of an accessible, high-quality wildlife site. GiGL maps areas that fall outside of this threshold, enabling informed decision-making and targeted action to improve access to nature and mitigate inequalities. The SINC Resource Hub provides more information.
Delivering the plan through GiGL’s stakeholder working
Other ways in which GiGL is committed to helping delivery of the plan is in supporting species recovery and biodiversity monitoring, especially for continuing our role within the Water Vole Recovery Programme and in managing data on invasive species. We’re pleased the Plan recognised the importance of biological records in tracking conservation outcomes. GiGL looks forward to working with our stakeholders to ensure London has the data, tools and evidence needed to track progress towards this vital Plan’s goals.
The actions and monitoring set out in the plan will support:
- Improving the health and access of London’s waterways for both nature and people.
- Gather and mobilise robust environmental data for a wide range of stakeholders.
- Support evidence-led environmental planning and decisions across London.
London’s waterways are influenced by a wide range of organisations, sectors and communities, from Londoners and landowners to businesses, regulators and strategic partnerships. The evidence supporting this plan, alongside the data gathered through its delivery and monitoring, will be an important resource for shaping future decisions and helping to deliver a cleaner, healthier and more resilient capital.