KARACHI: Speakers at a workshop held on Thursday underscored the need to maximise efforts to increase mangrove cover, particularly along Karachi’s coast, to protect the city from natural disasters, including tsunamis.

Highlighting the challenges local communities face due to a significant decline in freshwater inflows from the Indus river — resulting in loss of biodiversity, livelihoods and agricultural land —, they regretted that although mangrove cover in the Indus delta has increased, these forests are being destroyed in the name of commercial and housing projects, exposing both people and wildlife to natural disasters and the adverse impacts of climate change.

The speakers were sharing their views at a programme organised under a mangrove management and community development project, supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and WWF-Germany.

They pointed out that mangrove vegetation remains fragile, degraded, and under pressure due to continued overexploitation. Being at the tail-end of the Indus River, communities living in the delta face severe challenges owing to restricted freshwater flows, which directly affect their traditional livelihoods, survival strategies and socio-economic resilience.

Speakers at moot stress efforts to increase mangrove cover to save Karachi, other coastal areas from natural disasters

Climate change, they said, has further intensified these vulnerabilities. Rising sea levels have caused land erosion, increased salinity, a decline in mangrove cover, and a sharp reduction in fish stocks — all of which have directly affected the livelihoods of fishing-dependent communities.

“To address these challenges in the Indus delta, the path forward now requires a collective and sustained effort to scale and institutionalise models of community-based adaptation, natural resource management, and climate resilience,” said Hammad Naqi Khan, director general of WWF-Pakistan.

He lauded the efforts of the Sindh Forest Department and local fisher and farmer communities for their role in enhancing mangrove cover in the delta. The WWF-Pakistan, he said, has been actively investing in conservation efforts for the past two decades, focusing on innovative solutions, addressing local needs, strengthening community stewardship, and building effective partnerships.

Arif Ali Khokhar, conservator at the Sindh Forest Department, said that with the joint efforts of conservation organisations, local communities, and passionate citizens, the department had improved mangrove cover from 80,000 hectares in the 1980s to 250,000 hectares.

“These mangroves not only provide livelihood support but also help mitigate natural disasters, including sea intrusion, coastal flooding, and cyclones. As a result of these efforts for mangrove conservation, Pakistan is recognised globally, and other coastal states are following us,” he said.

Altaaf Hussain Sheikh, senior manager conservation at WWF-Pakistan, noted that persistent issues such as weak natural resource governance, lack of integrated management approaches, poverty, and increasing socio-economic pressures continue to hinder sustainable development in the Indus delta.

In his remarks, Chief Meteorologist Ameer Hyder Laghari underscored the need for disaster preparedness measures at every level.

“The multiple threats Pakistan faces due to the rapidly changing climatic conditions require that we take measures at the community level that could help them prepare for any disaster situation. These included periodic drills for earthquake preparedness and response, developing local warning systems and enforcement of building codes.”

Waqar Hussain Phulpoto, director general of the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa); Waheeda Mahessar, executive director of SZABIST-ZEBTech; and Dr Ashiq Ali from the Sepa also spoke at the event.

Published in Dawn, June 21th, 2025