Terry Jermy, Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk, has pledged his support for a campaign to nominate the UK’s chalk streams as a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, recognising them as one of the rarest and most important habitats in the world.
Only around 200 chalk streams are known to exist worldwide, with England home to approximately 85 per cent of them, many of which are found in South West Norfolk, including the Little Ouse, River Wissey and River Nar.
They support more plant species than any other English river type and provide vital habitat for threatened wildlife. Despite their global importance, the majority of chalk streams are in poor condition. Only around one in six currently meets “good ecological status”.
Over-abstraction is causing some rivers to run dry during summer months, while sewage discharges, agricultural pollution and climate change are placing increasing pressure on these fragile ecosystems. Fewer than a dozen chalk streams currently benefit from legal protection as Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Since becoming MP, Terry Jermy MP has met with several charities such as Little Ouse Headwaters Project and the Norfolk Rivers Trust, who, alongside landowners, are working to restore and protect chalk streams to safeguard our natural heritage for future generations.
Terry Jermy MP is supporting a new Bill, the Chalk Streams (UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site) Bill and has signed a letter urging the Government to begin the formal process of nominating chalk streams for World Heritage status.
World Heritage Site designation would formally recognise chalk streams as sites of outstanding universal value, strengthen long-term protections, and help unlock funding, research and public engagement to support their recovery.
Terry Jermy MPsaid: “England’s chalk streams are among the rarest habitats in the world and a true natural treasure. Here in South West Norfolk we are fortunate to have the chalk streams of the Little Ouse amongst others, yet too many of these rivers are in a shocking state.
“These rivers are as rare and important as the Great Barrier Reef, and are a large driver of tourism, which is fundamental to rural economies like ours, but instead of being protected, they are being polluted, dried-up and ignored.
“I’m calling on the Government to recognise chalk streams as a jewel in the crown of our natural heritage by nominating them as a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, giving them the status and protection they deserve for future generations.
“Alongside UNESCO designation, the Government must act now to strengthen planning protections for chalk streams and ensure that fines from polluting water companies are reinvested directly into restoring these irreplaceable rivers.”
In addition to pursuing UNESCO designation, campaigners are also calling on the Government to provide chalk streams with bespoke planning protection by listing them alongside ancient woodland as an irreplaceable habit in the National Planning Policy Framework, which is currently open for consultation, and to reinvest fines levied against polluting water companies into a ring-fenced fund dedicated to chalk stream restoration.
