Experts say floods restored fisheries, nourished farmland and restored shrinking ecosystems
Agriculture. Photo: ANADOLU AGENCY
THAT:
Pakistan’s monsoon season left a trail of devastation across the country this year – killing more than 1,000 people, sweeping away livestock and crops and forcing about 3 million from their homes. Entire areas of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were submerged as rivers burst their banks and cities disappeared under floods.
But amid the widespread destruction, the southern coast experienced a rare resurgence. The once moribund Indus Delta has returned to life as floods revived fisheries, nourished farmland and restored ecosystems that had shriveled for decades.
“After a decade, the Indus delta has released so much water into the sea,” said Iqbal Hyder, a community leader and social worker in the coastal belt. “It has benefited both fishing and farming communities in a way we haven’t seen in years.”
Fishermen in particular have celebrated a season they had almost given up hope for.
“This is the first time in 15 years that I have seen fishermen smile because of such massive catches of fish and shrimp,” Hyder told Anadolu.
Tensions were particularly high over the return of the “palla”, a prized species that swims upriver from the Arabian Sea to breed. Once so plentiful that fishermen gave them to local people for free, fish had become scarce as water levels in the Indus River and delta dropped.
The coastal rice crop also flourished this year – another unusual gain.
“Normally, we wouldn’t have enough water for the rice crop during its sowing season,” Hyder said. “It has been so many years that the 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 slowing the relentless sea intrusion that has swallowed thousands of fertile acres and displaced coastal settlements in recent years.
Revival of biodiversity
Covering 6,000 square kilometers (2,316 square miles), the Indus Delta is among the world’s 40 most biologically rich ecoregions, 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 coastline 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 severely undermined its ecological functions.
But this year’s floods briefly reversed that trend. Freshwater pushed back encroaching seawater, revived aquatic species, and helped restore wetlands and mangrove forests—all critical to preserving biodiversity, stabilizing coastlines, and storing carbon.
The delta, he added, is critical to the marine food chain. Many species of fish, crabs and prawns are born in the calm waters of the delta before moving out into the open sea.
The flood waters have also recharged depleted groundwater reserves, Haq said.
Temporary postponement
Agricultural experts warn that the relief is fleeting.
“This one-time reprieve will certainly not be sufficient to reverse a phenomenon that has been eroding the local lands for at least three decades due to water scarcity,” Sethar said. “But it will still bring a temporary sigh of relief to the Indus Delta and its ecosystem.”
He said agriculture has not been able to maximize the benefits of the abundance of water due to outdated irrigation methods and poor distribution systems.
“Nature gives us chances again and again to improve ourselves. If we adopt modern water management and proper distribution practices – and ensure a minimum level of continuous freshwater supply to the sea, we will not have to rely 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 the freshwater inflow is regular.
“These benefits may be long-lasting as long as the floods continue to occur periodically,” he said. “However, if their frequency decreases, the benefits may be temporary and the ecosystem may deteriorate again over time, especially in regions where groundwater salinity is a problem.”
Damping and irrigation
Environmentalists warn that decades of upstream diversion – through dams and an extensive canal network – have starved the delta of the water it needs to survive.
“The upstream diversion that continued for over 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 are down to just two.
Memon warned that new upstream canals planned for corporate agriculture would further choke the delta.
For a long-term solution, he said Pakistan must maintain the minimum water flow to the sea outlined in the 1991 water agreement.
“The Indus Delta restoration is a national obligation,” he said. “An embargo against new upstream diversions is desperately needed for this national asset to survive.”
