The Indus River Delta forms where the Indus River flows into the Arabian Sea, mostly in the southern Sindh province of Pakistan with a small portion in the Kutch Region of India. The delta covers an area of about 41,440 km2 (16,000 square miles), and is approximately across where it meets the sea. The active part of the delta is . The climate is arid, the region only receives between of rainfall in a normal year. The delta is home to the largest arid mangrove forests in the world, as well as many birds, fish and the Indus dolphin.
Since the 1940s, the delta has received less water as a result of large-scale irrigation works capturing large amounts of the Indus water before it reaches the delta. The result has been catastrophic for both the environment and the local population. As a result, the 2010 Pakistan floods were considered "good news" for the ecosystem and population of the river delta as they brought much needed fresh water.
The population of the active part of the delta was estimated at 900,000 in 2003. Most of the population depends on agriculture and fishing. Mangrove forests provide fuel wood. Many former settlements in the delta have been abandoned as result of lack of water in the Indus and the encroaching Arabian Sea.
History
According to some accounts, the Macedonian fleet (of Alexander the Great) anchored itself for some time in the Indus river delta. It was damaged by a tsunami generated by an earthquake off the Makran Coast in 325 BC.
According to Tarikh-i-Hind (also known as the Chach Nama) by 6th century AD there existed a port called Debal in what is now the western part of the Indus delta. Debal also seemed to be the base of pirates from the tribe of Nagamara. These pirates' raids against the Umayyads, and the refusal to redress the issue by the ruling prince, precipitated the Muslim conquest around 710 AD (by Muhammad bin Qasim). Debal remained a port, and the last recorded mention of it was in 1223 AD. By the time Ibn Batuta reached the Indus delta, Debal had been abandoned due to increased shoaling preventing the then-port from accessing the sea.
When the Abbasid caliphate began to disintegrate, the delta came under the control of the increasingly autonomous province centered at Mansura. The eastern part of the delta was even more independent and controlled by the Sumra tribe until 1053 AD, when the region was brought under the control of the Khalji Delhi Sultanate by Alauddin Khalji. The tribe had several capitals, but none are populated today. In 1333 AD, the Samma Dynasty ruled all of the delta, and established their capital first at Samu-i (on the south bank of Keenjhar Lake) and later at Thatta. It was during this dynasty that the "golden age of native rule" (1461-1509 AD) happened in the delta and Sindh, under the rule of Jam Nizamuddin II.
From 1591 to 1592, the Mughal empire waged a campaign to bring lower Sindh under imperial rule, resulting in the delta coming under the province of Multan and ruled by Mirza Ghazi Beg. In 1739, the region, along with many others, was ceded to Nadir Shah. The Kalhora ruled the region until 1783. The power then transferred to the Talpurs until the British East India Company conquered them in 1839. In 1947, the Indus delta, along with rest of Sindh became a part of Pakistan.
Since 1957, the Sindh Forest and Wildlife Department has been tasked with protecting and managing of mangrove-forested area of the Indus delta. In 1973, were transferred to Port Qasim. The Sindh Board of Revenue continues to manage of the area. In December 2010, realizing the importance of mangrove conservation, the Government of Sindh declared all the mangrove forests in the Indus Delta as "Protected Forests", under the Forest Act of 1927. Apart from this action, a Mangrove Conservation Committee, with membership of all the relevant stakeholders has been formed to ensure the sustainable conservation of the Indus Delta Mangroves
Geography
The end estimated coastline of the Indus delta with the Arabian Sea (the maximum length in the direction of the coast) is approximated at , 220 km, and . Because the Indus river has switched its location at various points in history, it has an "active" delta region, and total delta region (all area that was once a part of the delta). The total area is estimated at , and . The active area is estimated at , and . The length of the total delta along the axis of Indus is estimated at , whereas the current delta stretches from the Arabian Sea to just south of Thatta (~). There are currently 17 major creeks(Including Sir Creek, Bhitiaro Creek and Kori Creek) and numerous minor creeks.