Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust welcomes Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council’s momentous decision, at Full Council on Thursday 15 May, to grant ‘personhood’ rights to local rivers.

This landmark move marks an unprecedented step in granting legal rights to rivers, offering greater protection to Hampshire’s globally rare chalk streams and delivering a major victory for nature.

The Rights of the River movement acknowledges the fundamental rights of nature and our duty to protect it. It is informed by the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers, which outlines rights such as the right to flow and to remain free from pollution.