Experts say the floods revived fisheries, nourished farmland and restored shrinking ecosystems.
Agriculture. Photo: AGENCIA ANADOLU
THAT:
Pakistan’s monsoon season left a trail of destruction across the country this year, killing more than 1,000 people, devastating livestock and crops, and forcing around 3 million from their homes. Entire areas in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were submerged as rivers burst their banks and cities disappeared under floodwaters.
However, amidst the widespread destruction, the south coast witnessed a rare resurgence. The once-dying Indus Delta has come back to life as floods revived fisheries, nourished farmland and restored ecosystems that had been shrinking for decades.
“After a decade, the Indus Delta has released a lot of water into the sea,” said Iqbal Hyder, a community leader and social worker in the coastal area. “It has benefited both the fishing and farming communities in a way we haven’t seen in years.”
Anglers, in particular, have been celebrating a season they had almost given up expecting.
“It is the first time in 15 years that I see fishermen smiling at such massive catches of fish and shrimp,” Hyder told Anadolu.
Excitement was especially high for the return of the “palla”, a prized species that swims upstream from the Arabian Sea to breed. Fish, once so plentiful that fishermen gave them away to locals, had become scarce as water levels in the Indus River and delta declined.
The coastal rice crop also flourished this year, another unusual increase.
“Normally we wouldn’t have enough water for the rice harvest during the planting season,” Hyder said. “It has been many years since farmers not only have enough rice for themselves, but also to sell.”
Saeed Ahmad Sethar, senior vice president of the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture, told Anadolu that the influx of water is also rejuvenating dying mangroves and curbing relentless marine intrusion that has swallowed thousands of fertile acres and displaced coastal settlements in recent years.
Biodiversity Renaissance
Covering an area of 6,000 square kilometers (2,316 sq mi), the Indus Delta is among the 40 most biologically rich ecoregions in the world and is home to mangrove forests, wetland habitats, and marine nurseries.
“The Indus Delta is a unique and important part of Pakistan’s ecosystem. It supports a rich variety of life, helps protect the coast and provides essential resources such as fish and water purification,” Karachi-based ecologist Rafiul Haq told Anadolu.
He warned that reduced river flow, climate change and human activity have seriously undermined their ecological functions.
But this year’s floods briefly reversed that trend. Freshwater pushed back seawater encroachment, revived aquatic species and helped restore wetlands and mangrove forests – all vital for maintaining biodiversity, stabilizing the coast and storing carbon.
The delta, he added, is essential to the marine food chain. Many species of fish, crabs and shrimp are born in the calm waters of the delta before moving to the open sea.
The floods have also recharged depleted groundwater reserves, Haq said.
temporary pardon
Agricultural experts warn that the relief will be temporary.
“This single respite will certainly not be enough to reverse a phenomenon that has been eroding local lands for at least three decades due to water scarcity,” Sethar said. “But it will continue to provide a temporary sigh of relief to the Indus Delta and its ecosystem.”
He said agriculture has failed to maximize the benefits of abundant water due to outdated irrigation methods and poor distribution systems.
“Nature gives us opportunities again and again to improve. If we adopt modern water management and proper distribution practices, ensuring a minimum level of continuous supply of fresh water to the sea, we will not have to depend on floods to fill the delta and stop erosion,” he said.
Another challenge, he added, lies in managing flooding to minimize damage.
Haq agreed that the benefits will fade unless freshwater flows are regular.
“These benefits could be long-lasting as long as flooding continues to occur periodically,” he said. “However, if their frequency decreases, the benefits could be temporary and the ecosystem could degrade again over time, particularly in regions where groundwater salinity is a problem.”
Dams and irrigation
Environmentalists warn that decades of upstream diversion – through dams and an extensive network of canals – have deprived the delta of the water it needs to survive.
“The upstream diversion that continued for more than a century has led to an ecological disaster in the Indus Delta,” Islamabad-based water expert Naseer Memon told Anadolu.
He noted that the delta’s active area shrank from 13,900 square kilometers in 1833 to just 1,067 square kilometers today, a staggering 92% reduction. Seventeen active streams have been reduced to just two.
Memon warned that new upstream canals planned for corporate agriculture would further suffocate the delta.
For a long-term solution, he said, Pakistan must maintain the minimum flow of water to the sea outlined in the 1991 Water Agreement.
“The restoration of the Indus Delta is a national obligation,” he said. “An embargo on new upstream diversions is desperately needed for this national asset to survive.”
