Thursday 14th May, 2026
Sir David Attenborough celebrated his 100th birthday last week, so what better way to start than with some of his words?
“Real success can only come if there is a change in our societies and in our economics and in our politics”.
On behalf of rivers and communities in Wales, that’s exactly what we want Rhun ap Iorworth MS and his new Plaid Cymru Government to deliver.
Over the coming weeks, they will set the direction for rivers, specifically in areas such as water sector reform, chemical and agricultural pollution, biodiversity and the use of nature to solve some of the issues facing them. These are areas requiring such monumental change and strong governance; yet yesterday’s Cabinet announcements set no such clear leadership.
Before the election, Plaid published a series of pledges of what they might achieve in the first 100 days of office should they win. In a period of untold economic constraint, we will need our politicians to be strong in decision-making. Their communities have spoken.
Plaid committed to “press the UK Government on environmental justice for coalfield communities and funding for restoring coal tips and contaminated land”. It supported a Climate and Nature Action Plan for Wales and, as the previous Government described it, a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ chance to reform water that has community delivery at its heart. It also recognised the need for nature-based solutions to play a key part in alleviating flooding and for them to underpin a National Strategy for Flooding.
But perhaps the most interesting 100-day pledge is to begin resetting the relationship with Westminster.
Extending Welsh Government’s powers under the Devolution Act to Wales is needed to deliver improvements for rivers. And, during a tumultuous time at Westminster, it must happen fast because we need to resolve the governance of our cross-border rivers and, as the new First Minister promised only this week, the outcomes for Wales’s rivers, biodiversity and environment.
Promising to be “broadly people centred” in policies, the next Government must unlock community-led change to rivers, integrate local knowledge to long-term decisions and enable delivery on the ground.
87% of the Welsh public support action from Welsh Government to reduce, and where possible, eliminate river pollution caused by agriculture and sewage. Tough decisions will be needed to achieve this.
So, to finish, some more of Sir David’s words:
“The truth is: the natural world is changing. And we are totally dependent on that world. It provides our food, water, and air. It is the most precious thing we have and we need to defend it.”