The Rights of UK Rivers: Reimagining their Future

Our rivers are under pressure from pollution, misconnection, abstraction and climate extremes. While policy and ambition exist, delivery remains fragmented. What if we shifted our approach, and recognised our rivers as living systems rather than infrastructure?

During London Climate Action Week, join us at The Conduit to discuss a simple but powerful idea: lasting environmental change flows from relationship, not abstraction, and rivers offer the clearest way to align connection, community and governance across the UK.

Drawing on their diverse perspectives, Paul Powlesland, Laura Reineke, Jeevan Vasagar and Baroness Jenny Jones will examine both the philosophical and practical implications of this shift, from legal personhood and ecological democracy to community-led river guardianship and custodianship. The panel will explore how River Guardian networks could work in practice, what legal and political barriers exist, and whether current environmental regulation is capable of protecting rivers in an age of ecological crisis.

At its heart, the conversation asks how we move from extraction to relationship, from ownership to stewardship, and from viewing nature as something we control to something we belong to and are responsible for protecting.

Event Schedule

6:15pm: Pre-event socialising and networking
A cash bar will be available for refreshments.

6:30pm: Event begins

7:30pm: Event ends

Speakers

Jenny Jones’s varied career has included teaching, bookkeeping and archaeology. Since starting her career in politics, she has held several prominent roles: Deputy Mayor of London, Deputy Chair of the London Assembly’s Police and Crime Committee, Green Councillor for Southwark Council and Chair of the Green Party of England and Wales. She served on the London Assembly from 2000-16 and was the Mayor’s Green Transport Advisor and Chair of the London Food Board 2000-2008. In 2004 she was named as one of 200 ‘women of achievement’ by Buckingham Palace.

When the Green Party was offered its first seat in the House of Lords in 2013, Jenny Jones was at the top of the party’s selection list. She took her title, Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb, from the council estate she grew up on in Brighton. She has no pets, no car and grows her own vegetables in summer.

Paul Powlesland is a barrister dedicated to protecting the natural world and those who defend it. Specialising in environmental law, he uses legal tools to support activists and safeguard rivers, trees, and wildlife, while also representing individuals, workers, and communities facing more powerful opponents across his broader civil practice. With over a decade at the Bar, his work is grounded in a commitment to justice, both social and environmental.

Paul lives on a boat on the River Roding, where he acts as a guardian for the river, embodying a deeply personal and practical approach to stewardship. He is the founder of Lawyers for Nature and the River Roding Trust, and a leading voice in advancing the rights of nature in the UK. Through his advocacy, legal work, and public engagement, he champions new models of governance in which rivers are recognised as living entities, with guardians empowered to speak and act on their behalf.

Laura Reineke is a Campaign Director and Charity CEO with a track record of founding and leading high-impact organisations and movements that drive environmental and community change. Founder of three charities and a nationally recognised women-led collective, she specialises in building campaigns that mobilise audiences, shape public narrative, and influence policy at the highest levels.

As Founder and Chief Executive of Friends of the Thames, she leads national efforts to protect and restore the River Thames, combining grassroots action with strategic advocacy. Her work is rooted in a deep personal connection to the river, championing the rights of nature and reimagining how law, community, and activism can work together to safeguard waterways.Her accolades and accomplishments as an open water swimmer are not only proof of her endurance, but her dedication to raising awareness and driving action to protect rivers and oceans. Through her leadership, campaigning, and public speaking, she brings together communities, policymakers, and organisations to create lasting environmental and social impact.

Jeevan Vasagar is an award-winning British journalist, author, and editor specialising in climate change, global politics, and public policy. He is currently Climate Editor at Tortoise Media and contributes to The Observer, where his reporting focuses on the environmental crisis and its social and economic impacts. Over a career spanning more than two decades, he has reported from across the world, including as Singapore and Malaysia correspondent and Berlin correspondent for the Financial Times, and previously spent 12 years at The Guardian in roles such as East Africa correspondent and education editor.

Jeevan’s books include Lion City: Singapore and the Invention of Modern Asia, and The Surge, which examines humanity’s relationship with flooding and climate risk. His writing has also appeared in publications including The Economist, the LA Times, and the New Statesman.