Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Campaigners urge government to introduce right of access to water, particularly as heatwaves become more common Almost three-quarters of riverbanks in England have no public access, according to data released by the Right to Roam campaign. Across the country, the public cannot use riverbanks or gain access to the rivers themselves in most of the river catchments from the west of Cornwall up to the Tweed, which flows through northern England and Scotland. Continue reading...

Officials have long lobbied for peak that rises 2,918 metres above sea level to be given coveted designation More than four decades have elapsed since Evangelos Geroliolios made his first ascent to the home of the ancient gods. At the top of Mount Olympus, on the rocky peak of Greece’s highest mountain, he felt unalloyed awe. “I’ve never forgotten that unique moment, that unique feeling up there on the throne of Zeus,” recalled Geroliolios, who as mayor of Dion-Olympus now spends a great deal of his time administering the area around the site. Continue reading...

Small pools don’t get the same attention as polluted rivers or seas. But they have a vital role to play in boosting nature Frogs; newts; small fish such as minnows and sticklebacks; dragonflies; water boatmen and water snails: these are just a few of the hundreds of animal species that make their homes in Britain’s ponds alongside diverse wetland plants, some of which are endangered. Yet while small bodies of water are cherished by hobbyists as well as scientists, they have startlingly few protections – even at a time when the polluted state of rivers, lakes and coastlines is a key focus of environmentalists. With a clean water bill expected soon, this official neglect of ponds should soon be consigned to the past. While rewilding projects have overseen the rediscovery of older “ghost ponds” as well as the creation of new, and householders are encouraged to create miniature ones in their gardens, charities including the specialist Freshwater Habitats Trust point to the growing body of international research that testifies to their ecological importance. In 1996 the first-ever national survey estimated that there were 228,900 ponds in Britain. Thirty years on would be an apt moment to grant them enhanced status. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Environmental groups are sounding the alarm over plans that threaten a desert spring that’s home to rare fish and turtles and sacred to the O’odham people Quitobaquito Springs in south-west Arizona has been called a biological wonderland with few equals. The springs are an oasis in the vast Sonoran desert along the US-Mexico border, held sacred by the O’odham people, who call it A’al Vaipia. Here, water flows out of an aquifer at the bottom of a hill, runs along a short concrete channel and collects in a pond. Continue reading...