Urban human populations and wetlands have been joined in a turbulent symbiotic marriage since the dawn of civilization. The advent of the earliest urban conurbations in Mesopotamia was dependent on wetlands and the benefits they provided. For almost five millennia humans remained predominantly occupants of rural areas. This situation has changed markedly in the last few years. Since the mid 2000s more than 50% of the Earth's population now resides in cities, towns and urban settlements. This shift to a predominantly urban population is predicted to continue at average rates up to almost 1.6% per annum worldwide with low growth rates in the most developed countries and highest urbanization rates in less developed and the least developed countries.

Urban areas can generate a range of negative impacts on the environment. These impacts will vary in their scale and geographic scope. Some impacts may be short‐term and of only local significance. Other impacts may be chronic and extend well being municipal boundaries. The relationship between water and cities is crucial. Unsustainable use of water resources can have significant impacts on wetlands and the biodiversity they support far beyond the peri‐urban environment.

Wetlands are highly diverse and support a great diversity of life. Wetlands include lakes and rivers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands and peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, near‐ shore marine areas, mangroves and coral reefs, and human‐made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs, and salt pans. Wetlands have progressively been lost and degraded due to human activities for thousands of years. They are now recognized as being lost at a rate that is greater than for any other type of ecosystem.

Wetlands are essential for human well‐being. They deliver a range of benefits or ecosystem services including provisioning services, such as food and fibre which are essential for human welfare, and regulating services, such as recharge of groundwater and protection from natural hazards, which are critical to sustaining vital ecosystem functions. Wetlands also have considerable aesthetic, cultural, educational and spiritual values and provide sustainable opportunities for recreation and tourism. For the prosperity of future generations and the protection of wetland biodiversity it is essential that society moves away from resource exploitation and adopts a more sustainable approach to urbanization.