MY expository writing class consists of students who will choose one of four interdisciplinary majors: social development studies, politics, philosophy and economics, Asian and Middle Eastern studies, and environmental science. Gen Z has grown up in the shadow of the Covid pandemic; my students are now studying the nightmare of climate change and the ill effects it will have on Pakistan.
Recently, they read a report by Waqas Ali Ranjha in this paper on how mangrove cutting for land reclamation in the Korangi creek is putting the environment in danger. The students were horrified to hear how land grabbers have built an illegal dyke in the Korangi Mangrove Forest, next to the Korangi Biodiversity Park that opened just last year. This dyke blocks water from reaching the mangroves, which will die and be cut down by encroachers. The Sindh Forestry Department confirmed this illegal activity, but the matter is sub judice, and the police will not act.
Mayor Murtaza Wahab had asked the public for feedback about the Biodiversity Park, so I tasked my students with composing ‘letters to the editor’ — a classic exercise for university students to “compliment, critique, inform, or communicate information” on a topic they’re passionate about.
We keep telling these students that they are responsible for finding the solutions to our manmade problems. They know the importance of the mangroves to Karachi’s coastline, protecting it from floods, storms, and rising sea levels. They fear for the destruction of the mangrove’s unique ecosystem, with its birds, animals, and plants that represent the many miracles of the natural world. Alisha Shah writes, “What bothers me is how calculated the whole thing is ... at this rate we’re going to lose a piece of Karachi that we can’t really get back.” Enara Muluk adds, “We already have very little greenery left in Karachi, so we should at least try to protect the mangroves that are still there.”
Students are concerned about the loss of forest cover.
These students note contradictions in the legal process that benefit criminals and miscreants while harming our natural resources. For example, Ayesha Baig asks smartly, “How come the [sub judice order] only applied to the Sindh Forest Department when it came to the removal of the bunds and not to those who are making those bunds?” She urges the public to act, citing previous activist movements like India’s 1970s Chipko Movement where women villagers hugged trees to stop deforestation; and the Sundarbans Protection Struggles, where activists recommend a combination of local knowledge and smart governance to protect an endangered mangrove forest in Bengal.
Some of my students are concerned not just about the environmental impacts of losing the Korangi mangroves, but the livelihoods of fishermen and the resulting economic loss. “Mangroves serve as indispensable ‘nurseries’ for more than 75 per cent of Pakistan’s commercially viable fish, shrimp, and crab species,” writes Faiz Ahmed. “Karachi’s fishing exports are estimated to have a market value around $500 million; a substantial loss in the wildlife population is reflected in these companies’ bottom lines. And the consumers ... have to pay with their wallet as … the price of that once affordable prawn biryani more closely resembles that of a lobster thermidor.”
Destroying the mangroves will have adverse effects on Karachi in other ways, too. Mangroves entrap carbon dioxide, especially relevant in Korangi where factories pollute the air. “If we destroy mangrove ecosystems,” writes Hasnat Alam, “the stored greenhouse gases will be released back into the air. This also weakens Karachi’s ability to [withstand] pollution and to cool the city from heat islands, and it makes urban life less pleasant overall.”
But what should be done about this particular disaster unfolding in slow motion before us? The students want the illegal bund to be removed immediately, despite the sub judice order. Muhammed Ayaz says, “Legal disputes should be resolved through proper judicial procedures, but they should not become an excuse for irreversible environmental damage.” Shah Sarbaz Ali Rehmat writes that the authorities must “disclose the Environmental Impact Assessment for this activity, and designate Korangi Creek as a protected zone”. Meanwhile, Fatima Rubi advises the use of satellite technology and community-based monitoring to look for changes in the mangrove cover.
I can’t think of anyone who would disagree with Syed Riaz Hussein’s call to action: “Stop the cutting, stop the landfilling, and let the water flow back to the mangroves so they can survive and natural life can be sustained.” Hopefully, the mayor, the Sindh Forestry Department, and the police can be convinced to act fast before the damage is done. After all, as Muhammed Ayaz writes, prevention is preferable to restoration.
The writer teaches Expository Writing at AKUFAS.
Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2026
