River health, importance and applications

Rivers are complex ecosystems that severely damaged, or even destroyed due to overexploitation and increasing population growth. Close relationship of rivers and human societies along with socio-economic developments have led to degradation and considerable changes in river ecosystems. However, providing critical goods and services, including drinking water, water purification, power generation, organic matter retention, nutrient recycling, recreational activities and habitat for many unique plants and animals have been impaired due to man-made disturbances. The assessment and measurement of river condition and health is one of the main preventing tools of water management organizations. Also, the concept of river health can be used as a tool to estimate the rate of environmental flows to quantifying quantity, timing, and quality of water flows essential to sustain freshwater and aquatic ecosystems and depending human livelihoods and well being. This study aims to explain the concept and importance of river health along with practical theoretic and practical methods as a new approach in planning and utilization of surface water resources. In this regard, different available defintions, frameworks and selected studies have been presented. Therefore, implementation of river health assessment can leads to achieve a flow regime, or pattern, that provides human uses and essential processes required to support healthy river ecosystems and management of water resources. According to the literature reviewe, river health assessment served as a complementary programme in watershed planning/management and regulation and adjustement of river flow regime to maintain riverine ecosystems.