Revive nature and wildlife in London’s waterways, bold plan by Mayor announced

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has pledged to revive nature to London’s rivers and waterways. As part of his bold plans to clean up London’s rivers over the next 10 years, Sadiq will work with partners to bring species such as water voles, eels, otters, mayflies and others back to the capital.

Last year, the Mayor successfully reintroduced beavers to Ealing for the first time in 400 years, with the creatures restoring habitats, increasing the area’s protection from flooding and making it safe for other species. Sadiq is now pledging to spearhead a revival of nature in London’s waterways to revive many more species and improve climate resilience.  

The Mayor visited New York Harbour today to see first-hand the return of oysters to the Hudson and how the city is embracing nature to clean up the river. The Mayor toured the Billion Oyster Project, which was started in 2014 with the aim of restoring one billion oysters to the New York Harbour by 2035 – with 50 million oysters added to the local waterways every year to help naturally filter the water and protect New York City from flood damage.  

The oyster reefs in New York provide a habitat for hundreds of species and reduce the risk of erosion. Sadiq hopes the return of species such as water voles, eels, otters and mayflies to London will have a similar effect in protecting London’s waterways and will explore and consider the role of oysters in the eastern part of London’s Thames.

Sadiq is already in discussions with partners in London about how to deliver a revival of nature in London’s waterways. This could include new nature interventions that build upon:

• Introducing saltmarsh plants around the Greenwich peninsula to create a shoreline of life and improve flood defences, along with new sandbanks.
• Enabling the return of dragonflies and restoring the chalk stream to the Wandle, alongside trout that once flourished there.  

The Mayor wants London to become a safer home to a vast array of river creatures, from eels making their journey from the Sargasso sea to otters being brought back from the brink of extinction in the Roding.

He will prioritise nature-based solutions, similar to those deployed in New York, and bring together companies, government agencies, charities and campaigners to get the capital’s rivers safe, clean and open to more people.

The Mayor has already invested almost £30m since 2016 to help grow and revive the city’s biodiversity and his manifesto pledge for a new Green Roots fund will see more money on projects that expand access to our vital waterways.