[3] The Indus River Delta forms a vast alluvial fan composed of mud flats interspersed with channels and fringed with mangrove forests.

Where the river enters the Arabian Sea in Sindh Province, Pakistan, there is an alluvial fan that extends along 150 km (93 mi) of coastline.

It is formed from the vast quantities of silt that have been washed down the river for over fifty million years and covers an area of about 600,000 hectares (1,500,000 acres).

There are seventeen major channels, many smaller ones, extensive mudflats and fringing mangrove swamps which form a barrier against storm surges.

[4] The Indus River is used extensively for irrigation and by the time it reaches the delta, the flow of freshwater is down by more than 90% compared to historic levels.

Most of the Indus Delta mangroves have been cleared for firewood and to create grazing land but some remains in three protected areas: Marho Kotri, Cut Munarki Chach Wildlife Sanctuaries and Mirpur Sakro Game Reserve.

[4] In projects started in 1985, the Sindh Forest Department has been in the forefront of replanting and restoring mangrove areas in the delta, with support of Tahir Qureshi Senior environmentlist and International Union for Conservation of Nature, the United Nations Environmental Programme, UNESCO and the World Bank.