ABSTRACT

The water pollution of wetlands from diverse emerging contaminants is a global problem that is still in search of an affordable (cost-effective) and eco-technological solution. Chapter 1 describes the diverse attributes related to water, wetlands, and the phytoremediation of emerging environmental contaminants, like volatile organic carbons, pesticides, endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), inorganics, organics, and pathogenic microbes. In this context, it is worth mentioning that pollutants having no prescribed regulatory limits are usually referred to as emerging micropollutants. At the outset of this chapter, the global distribution, important attributes, and different anthropogenic sources of contaminants (like industrial and agro-chemical effluents) of global water resources are discussed. To this end, phytotechnologies are an environmentally friendly tool that can be used to address the problems emanating from diverse emerging contaminants. Besides, as a green tool for the phytoremediation of emerging contaminants, as well as pathogenic microbes, in wetland systems, plants possess remarkable potential for socioeconomic and environmental benefits (C sequestration and clean option of bioenergy) to attain a sustainable paradigm.