The Strategic Allocation Fund (SAF) is a Welsh Government fund managed by Natural Resources Wales for biodiversity, peatland, inland fisheries & water quality, woodlands and metal mine remediation.
Purpose for rivers
In 2020/21, rivers trusts in Wales used the fund for the first time to deliver strategic fisheries and river restoration projects.
Since then, they have made use of it to:
- Restore salmon (and sewin) habitat.
- Remove barriers to fish migration (for example, obsolete weirs and culverts).
- Improve river habitat through tree planting, bank stabilisation, and gravel restoration.
- Improve water quality and river resilience.
- Monitor fish populations and evaluate restoration projects.
It is worth noting that the purpose of the funding, as stated by Welsh Government, does not include physical improvements or access to fisheries by anglers.
It is entirely focused on increasing numbers of salmon in Welsh rivers.
Afonydd Cymru receive up to £30k annually to provide support to river restoration projects in Wales. In 2025, this included supporting Natural Resources Wales with reporting to NASCO and further development of priorities for salmon. In 2026 we are analysing shading data across Wales to support future tree-planting initiatives.