Conservationists have criticised the government for failing to join the most ambitious scheme ever created to clean up the world’s rivers.
The United Nations launched the Freshwater Challenge last month, a project that calls on countries to commit to clear targets to restore freshwater ecosystems.
The aim is to improve a total of 300,000km of rivers and 350 million hectares of wetlands worldwide by 2030. According to the UN, it is the largest endeavour of its kind. Countries taking part include Canada, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States but not the UK.
The failure to sign up has been criticised by wildlife groups, who say the poor state of many of Britain’s watercourses and the frequent spilling of raw sewage into them
