Skip to main content
Wye and Usk Observatory

Catchment sustainability

River catchments provide ecosystem services that sustain communities and livelihoods.

Individuals interact with rivers in a variety of ways, for example, the same person can be a water consumer, polluter, and use their local river for recreation. Our researchers seek to understand the complex interactions between natural and social systems in the Wye and Usk catchments.

Linked Projects:

Catchment Systems Thinking Cooperative

CaSTCo is a partnership led by United Utilities between the Rivers Trust, twelve water and sewerage companies as well as academia and environmental charities to revolutionise the way crucial data about England and Wales’ water environment is gathered and shared, in particular on the health of the nation’s rivers.

river1

MARS

Managing Aquatic ecosystems and water Resources under multiple Stress (MARS).

duress2

DURESS project

The NERC funded Diversity of Upland Rivers for Ecosystem Service Sustainability project is part of a major Research Council initiative to assess the role of biodiversity in delivering key ecosystem services on which society relies.

Citizens science plays an important role in understanding river systems. Data gathered by dedicated volunteers complements the long-term research conducted by Cardiff University academics, who have been studying the Wye and Usk river catchments for over four decades.

Explore our resources for citizen science groups:

Watch our resource for citizen scientists on collecting water samples.