Bridging gaps in the Indian freshwater biodiversity conservation through science-based and policy-backed recommendations

India's freshwater biological resources are threatened by multiple stressors and ongoing conservation efforts are insufficient to tackle these challenges. We therefore propose 14 recommendations to halt India's freshwater biodiversity loss. i) Set up a separate ministry on biodiversity to develop and monitor policies. ii) Collection of comprehensive ecological data and sharing with the global scientific community for better assessment. iii) Assessment of data reliability and relevance towards conservation and sustainable management. iv) Integrating terrestrial-freshwater ecosystem management to effectively conserve freshwater biota. v) Implementation of environmental flow regulations for maintaining hydrological connectivity. vi) Augmentation of Protected Areas to protect freshwater biota. vii) Implementation of regulatory frameworks for trade in exotic species to reduce invasiveness. viii) Avoiding fish seed ranching programs in rivers to evade contamination of natural stocks and disease outbreaks from aquaculture. ix) Increasing collaboration between neighboring states and countries on shared freshwater ecosystem for global and regional sustainability. x) Inclusion of compulsory curriculum on biodiversity at different educational stages for developing responsibility towards protecting biodiversity. xi) Building trust among all stakeholders for better management plans through their active participation. xii) Providing alternative livelihood options to improve the socio-economic status of local people to reduce their direct dependency on freshwater ecosystems. xiii) Promotion of citizen science approach on remuneration basis in conserving freshwater biodiversity. xiv) Enabling better use of digital technologies for freshwater biodiversity monitoring. Inclusion of these timely science-based and policy-backed aquatic ecosystems protection guidelines will therefore help to achieve freshwater biodiversity conservation goals successfully in India.