A healthy river leads to a healthy community. Contributing food and energy to supporting for livelihood are the major social benefits of the river. The ecosystem services and social services of a river are based on how we manage the river ecosystem. When a river ecosystem is degraded, the greatest impact will be on the vulnerable communities who are depending on that ecosystem. The relationship between river health and social benefits is extremely complex. The riverine ecosystem is a part of the hydrological cycle starting from evaporation to the revert of water through precipitation. Thus, the river system assures water security for supporting all life.

A riverine ecosystem has some natural capacity to mitigate and buffer against climate variability and related changes in the environment. It helps to maintain the availability of groundwater throughout the year, be it during summer or in drought conditions. The physical features of the river such as the riverbed, floodplain, and river catchment areas are helpful for the lateral and longitudinal connectivity of the river resulting in the saturation of the riverine area and the outflow of water into the aquifer.

The stabilization of water by balancing surface and groundwater gives a suitable environment for ecosystem services and works as a climate-resilient property by moisturizing the soil and environment. Also, the river has a major role in the earth’s circulatory system by washing off carbon from the land to the ocean and helping to reduce the amount of carbon that reverts as heat-trapping carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and helping to mitigate climate change by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The relationship between the society and environment plays a major role in the human life cycle, the recreational activities in the river corridors offer a space they can connect with nature. A healthy river can provide reactional and tourism opportunities for society and provide good physical and mental health to the community by allowing stress relief and pleasure from the riverine environment.

The landscape, biodiversity and natural environment associated with the river have great recreational value and provide many recreational activities such as camping, social gathering, river sidewalk, bird watching, swimming, fishing, etc. Such types of recreational activities and tourism will increase social cohesion and improve the mental health of the society by increasing the social relationship between the people and the river.  Developing such kinds of social and emotional connections will help to maintain, restore and avoid the degradation of the river.

The aesthetic value of a river is an important aspect of river health management. It is a sensory experience or a visual treat that is offered by a healthy riverscape. The amenity and naturalness value of a river are the supporting elements of the aesthetic value. The level of the aesthetic value of an ecosystem depends on the degree of human activities and interventions in the environment. The visual values of the riverine ecosystem are depending on the geomorphological and ecological characteristics of the river. The abundance of riparian species, quality, and flow of water, channel morphology, recreational and economic interest, etc. are the key characteristics for evaluating a river ecosystem integrity.