Editing Indus River (section)

===Indus delta===
{{Main|Indus River Delta}}
Originally, the delta used to receive almost all of the water from the Indus River, which has an annual flow of approximately {{convert|180|e9m3|e9yd3}}, and is accompanied by {{convert|400|e6tonnes|e6LT}} of silt.<ref>{{cite news |title=Indus Delta, Pakistan: economic costs of reduction in freshwater flow |url=http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/casestudy05indus.pdf |publisher=[[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] |date=May 2003 |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111116084702/http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/casestudy05indus.pdf |archive-date=16 November 2011 }}</ref> Since the 1940s, dams, barrages and irrigation works have been constructed on the river. The Indus Basin Irrigation System is the "largest contiguous irrigation system developed over the past 140 years" anywhere in the world.<ref>{{cite web |author=Sarfraz Khan Quresh |title=Water, Growth and Poverty in Pakistan |url=http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2010/02/01/000333037_20100201014523/Rendered/PDF/529140WP0Box341University0Press2006.pdf |publisher=[[World Bank]] |date=March 2005 |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224449/http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2010/02/01/000333037_20100201014523/Rendered/PDF/529140WP0Box341University0Press2006.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> This has reduced the flow of water and by 2018, the average annual flow of water below the [[Kotri barrage]] was {{convert|33|e9m3|e9yd3}},<ref>{{cite news |title=Pakistan's water economy: getting the balance right |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1767800/6-pakistans-water-economy-getting-balance-right/ |date=July 2018 |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=28 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728190855/https://tribune.com.pk/story/1767800/6-pakistans-water-economy-getting-balance-right/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and annual amount of silt discharged was estimated at {{convert|100|e6tonnes|e6LT}}.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} 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.<ref>{{cite news |first=Declan |last=Walsh |title=Pakistan floods: The Indus delta |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2010/oct/11/pakistan-floods-indus-river-delta-video |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 October 2010 |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817090053/https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2010/oct/11/pakistan-floods-indus-river-delta-video |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Declan |last=Walsh |title=Pakistan's floodwaters welcomed along Indus delta |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/05/pakistan-flood-waters-indus-delta |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=5 October 2010 |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817091105/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/05/pakistan-flood-waters-indus-delta |url-status=live }}</ref> Any further utilization of the river basin water is not economically feasible.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237403006 |title=River basin development phases and implications of closure |last1=Keller |first1=Jack |last2=Keller |first2=Andrew |last3=Davids |first3=Grant |date=January 1998 |access-date=25 September 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/IWMI_Research_Reports/PDF/pub003/REPORT03.PDF |title=Integrated Water Resource Systems: Theory and Policy Implications |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233639/http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/IWMI_Research_Reports/PDF/pub003/REPORT03.PDF |url-status=live }}</ref>

Vegetation and wildlife of the Indus delta are threatened by the reduced inflow of fresh water, along with extensive deforestation, industrial pollution and [[global warming]]. Damming has also isolated the delta population of Indus River dolphins from those further upstream.<ref>{{cite web |title=Indus River Delta |url=http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/indus_river_delta.cfm |publisher=[[World Wildlife Fund]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120123192924/http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/indus_river_delta.cfm |archive-date=23 January 2012 }}</ref>

Large-scale diversion of the river's water for irrigation has raised far-reaching issues. Sediment clogging from poor maintenance of canals has affected agricultural production and vegetation on numerous occasions. Irrigation itself is increasing soil salinization, reducing crop yields and in some cases rendering farmland useless for cultivation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://transformativetechnologies.org/insights/water-security/technology-breakthroughs-for-global-water-security-a-deep-dive-into-south-asia/ |title=Technology Breakthroughs for Global Water Security: A Deep Dive into South Asia |access-date=24 December 2018 |date=12 September 2018 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817092238/https://transformativetechnologies.org/insights/water-security/technology-breakthroughs-for-global-water-security-a-deep-dive-into-south-asia/ |url-status=live }}</ref>