Protecting our rare 'Amazonian' chalk streams

The fight is on to save a rare ecosystem of chalk streams referred to as the Amazon of the UK.

The UK is home to 85% of the world's chalk streams – clear waterways teeming with unique wildlife – but there are concerns about their future, with the usual threats to rivers hanging over them, including pollution.

This year, a bill was introduced in Parliament in a bid to give them protected status with Unesco. It is due to have a second reading in October.

The BBC went to Langford Lakes nature reserve in Wiltshire, home to the River Wylye chalk stream, to find out more about local support for protections.

Alice Eley, from Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, said chalk streams were "often referred to as the Amazon of our country because of the huge amount of diversity they hold compared to other rivers".

They are homes to rare water voles, white-clawed crayfish and kingfishers as well as many invertebrates and plants.

A net and a tray in the River Wylye quickly showed hundreds of tiny creatures living in the chalk stream, all contributing to its ecosystem.

Eley said the environment in the streams is very stable due to the way they are formed.

The mineral-rich water comes from aquifers, and is filtered through chalk bedrock, arriving in the streams at a constant temperature – about 10 or 11C.

She said these characteristics allow them to host "a huge variety and abundance of wildlife and vegetation".

Rivers, in contrast, are usually fed from overland sources.

Eley said Wiltshire Wildlife Trust had been working with farmers to reduce fertiliser run-off into rivers, and has been in touch with water companies.

Sarah Gibson is one of more than 30 MPs who support the Chalk Streams (Unesco Natural World Heritage Site) Bill.

The Chippenham MP said that, while Unesco status can be said to be "just symbolic", it can help to make a stronger case for improving water quality.

For example, the status could help to protect chalk streams from pollution, over-extraction of water and "inappropriate development pressure", she said.

The private members' bill was introduced by MP Pippa Heylings in February.

It would require the Government to apply to Unesco to get chalk streams recognised as a Natural World Heritage Site.

It is due to have a second reading in Parliament in October, when it will be debated and voted on.

Although the bill is not likely to become law, it may influence other future laws, said Gibson.

"I think the most important thing is that bills like this raise awareness, so that, when other legislation comes through, it's understood better," she said.

Gibson has a chalk stream running through her constituency. She said that, in summer, the "beautiful stream is full of small children paddling".

She said that protecting the stream was a matter of supporting communities so that those children could continue to enjoy it.

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