2016 was a challenging year for the Trust, mirroring the wider trials faced by Britain and the world in general. The move towards more nationalistic narratives, often seemingly at the expense of holistic integrated thinking, has brought division, uncertainty and unrest. Coupled with the passing of Dr Dylan Bright – a past WRT Director and dear friend – this meant 2016 didn’t relent to the very end. However, whilst we cannot go backwards, we can move forwards and for every challenge there is an opportunity. Already we have started to see more nuanced conversations within the environmental sector about what we need from our land and greater cooperation and understanding from the agricultural sector that any support will be hard fought against other public services. Yes, there are threats on the horizon – the level of protection and funding afforded to the environment is unsure – but as a society we are improving our ability to explain the collective benefits we derive from our rivers and the land they drain. It is by demonstrating how interlinked our system is that we can elevate the debate to one where we can use public funding, either through taxes or water bills, both efficiently and effectively to fund the public services we wish to see, whether it is flood protection, fisheries, bathing water or just a wonderful place to live.
Confluence: Annual Review 2016
