ABSTRACT
Freshwater habitats cover less than 1% of the earth’s surface and sustain 7% of the aquatic species (126,000 species of estimated 1.8 million described species) including 25% of the vertebrates. Apart from supporting a rich biodiversity, freshwater resources provide many ecosystem services for the human population, and are valuable sources of economy. However, the ecological importance and the economic value of the freshwater resources are often ignored. Several freshwater systems have been abolished or their existence is threatened, which in turn endangers the biodiversity supported within those systems. Most ecosystems are highly impacted by multiple stressors, and encroachment and overexploitation by humans into freshwater habitats are major threats towards the sustenance of the ecosystem. In this chapter, we describe ecological functions of different freshwater resources, the impact of different stressors, for example, urbanization, industrialization, and climate change, and have attempted to provide a roadmap towards an overarching goal to develop a sustainable future for the freshwater systems. Further, we have also described a few remedial measures human society may adopt in order to contribute to promoting a healthy freshwater environment across the globe.
