In a landmark environmental move, the River Wye has become the first river in the UK to receive cross-border “rights of nature” recognition across its entire catchment, stretching from its Welsh source to the Bristol Channel.
The charter, unveiled at the Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye on Sunday, formally recognises the river as a living ecosystem with intrinsic rights, a first-of-its-kind step campaigners hope will strengthen efforts to rescue the heavily polluted waterway.
