River Restoration Programme

Overview

Who are we?

Formed in 2018, the River Restoration Programme (RRP) team within Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is a national initiative aimed at restoring Welsh rivers to a more natural state, improving ecological health, and delivering multiple benefits for biodiversity, climate resilience, and communities. It complements NRW’s statutory duties under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) Regulations & Habitat Regulations, supporting the delivery of projects on the ground, both large-scale and small. This has significantly increased the delivery of river restoration across Wales, including RBMP local actions, with 30+ delivery focused employees working on river restoration in NRW.

Healthy rivers mean cleaner water, more resilient landscapes, and better places for wildlife and people. By restoring rivers, we’re helping Wales adapt to climate change and protect its natural heritage for future generations. The types of projects include:

🌊 Reconnect rivers and floodplains to reduce flood risk and store carbon.

🐟 Remove barriers for fish migration so species like salmon and trout can thrive.

🌳 Improve habitats for fish and wildlife by adding natural features like woody material and planting trees along riverbanks.

🤝 Working with communities and landowners to deliver nature-based solutions that benefit everyone.

Strategic Context

River ecosystems in Wales are under significant threat from multiple pressures, including land management, physical modification, water pollution, invasive species and climate change. As published in our River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) the most significant pressure impacting river ecosystems is physical modification. The River Restoration Programme directly addresses this by restoring natural and sustainable river form and processes that have been physically modified.

What We Do What We Do

To achieve the vision set out in NRW’s Corporate Plan to 2030 and realise the opportunities in the State of Natural Resources Report, as well as fulfill the duties in the Environment (Wales) Act 2016, Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and deliver WFD Regulations (2017) requirements, the River Restoration Programme has been set out to:

Improve coherence, direction, governance, management (budgetary and people), expertise, communications and integration of our river restoration projects.

Deliver on the vision:

To restore rivers, floodplains and catchments for habitats, wildlife and the current and future generations.

Work with stakeholders on river restoration projects to achieve shared goals

Our Objectives Our Objectives

Prioritise where we work and what we do prioritised in locations that deliver multiple benefits for protected sites & WFD as well as where we can enhance freshwater biodiversity and the water environment.

Work collaboratively at the catchment scale integrate with the catchment planning approach, via RBMPs. This involves delivering at the catchment scale, working across projects / programmes internally and externally to think bigger, achieve efficiencies, and deliver more. We will build on previous work by all in a catchment, as well as foster collaborative working.

Let nature do the work to restore natural river processes and function, embracing dynamism and working with nature where possible. We will seek opportunities to slow the flow and create wetland habitats, which capture sediment, moderate flows and provide resilience to climate change.

Restore connectivity remove or improve barriers to longitudinal, lateral and vertical connectivity, helping to restore freshwater habitats and species.

Share what we do promote and champion NRW’s River Restoration Programme and communicate and monitor our successes, to foster support, knowledge exchange and best practice on river restoration. We will be transparent with our work, making our activity data and reports accessible to all our stakeholders (where appropriate).

Current Projects Current Projects

The RRP applies for funding for each particular project. Currently it is directly delivering the following projects with a ~£3.5million budget secured from the Nature and Climate Emergency fund until the end of March 2028:

Nant Dowlais (Phase 2)

Kenson

Nant y Wedal River Restoration (Heath Park)

Nant y Fendrod

Clyne

Teifi Catchment restoration project

National Physical Modification project

Projects we are supporting but not directly delivering:

Freshwater Pearl Mussel reintroduction

Pulford Meadows SSSI

Salmon for Tomorrow

Four Rivers for Life

Upper Wye

LIFE Dee River

Cadoxton

Teifi Demonstrator Programme

Floodplain Meadows Partnership

Llandinam Gravels (postponed)

Opportunity Catchments

Dee
Clwyd
Conwy
Anglesey
Teifi
Taff/Ely
Cleddau/Milford Haven
Swansea Bay
Central Monmouthshire
Ithon

Past Projects Past Projects

Nant Dowlais Phase 1

Pelenna

Dulas (Upper & Lower)

Clywedog

Get in touch

adferafonydd@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk

Natural Resources Wales

We can support the following projects if you would like to get in touch:

Objective	Options
Resolve barriers to fish passage and sediment transport	Weir modification or removal
	De-culverting or culvert modification
Improve floodplain connectivity	Reconnection of floodplain features or re-meandering
	Set back or remove embankments
	Floodplain lowering
	Floodplain meadow creation or restoration
Improve geomorphological and ecological variety	Improve buffer zone and riparian/tree planting
	Fencing installation & land management
	Woody material
	INNS management
	Increasing sinuosity and placing of in-channel features
	Backwater, wetland and wet woodland creation
Resolve in-channel and wider valley modifications	Green/soft engineering and bank improvement works
	Channel restoration (bank re-profiling/regrading, bank stabilisation)
	CSO and outfall set back

Areas

All Areas

Audiences

River restoration
Rivers

Interests

Adfer afonydd
Adnoddau Dwr
Bioamrywiaeth
Biodiversity
Community Voulnteering
Cynllunio dwr
Dee
Fishing
Flooding
Gwirfoddoli Cymunedol
Landscapes
Llifogydd
Pysgota
resources
river basin planning
River restoration
Terrestrial ecosystems and species
Tirweddau
water framework directive
water planning
Water Resources
WFD
Y Gyfarwyddeb Fframwaith Dwr