Karachi’s Vanishing Green Shield: The Unchecked Destruction of Mangroves for Concrete Dreams
Once, the coastline of Karachi was a living, breathing barrier between the Arabian Sea and the restless metropolis—a 75-kilometer ribbon of emerald mangrove forests. Eight proud species thrived in the brackish waters, their gnarled roots filtering pollution, anchoring the shoreline, and softening the blows of cyclones and tsunamis. These forests were Karachi’s unsung defenders—silently absorbing carbon, nurturing fish nurseries, and cooling the coastal air.
Between 2010 and 2022 alone, 200 hectares of mangroves were felled, an area large enough to hold thousands of football fields. From Mai Kolachi to Rehri Goth, and from Korangi Creek to Sandspit, land and timber mafias, aided by permissive institutions, have turned Karachi’s coast into a lucrative frontier of speculation and profit. Satellite imagery analyzed by WWF-Pakistan shows the shocking before-and-after: mature trees, once standing 30 feet tall, erased in a patchwork of red zones—converted to luxury villas, industrial warehouses, and speculative housing plots.
Indeed, these mangroves once dampened the force of the 1945 Makran tsunami, sparing Karachi from unimaginable loss. But this memory has faded in the frenzy of urban expansion. Today, entire neighborhoods—Hijrat Colony, Ibrahim Hydari, Machhar Colony, Defence—lie exposed to the threat of cyclones and rising seas.
This is not a story of poverty-driven necessity alone. While some local communities harvest mangrove wood to survive, the lion’s share of destruction is organized, systematic—and deeply profitable.
Illegal allotments of mangrove land have become an underground industry. Once stripped bare, plots are sold at astronomical prices, all while the authorities look the other way. In the words of Saeed Baloch, Secretary General of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, “The dense mangrove forests have been hollowed out by the timber mafia. Despite laws protecting them, no action is taken. It’s a tragedy.”
The Sindh Forest Department and WWF-Pakistan have invested significant effort to reforest the coast. Between 2020 and 2024, 55,555 hectares were planted across Sindh, increasing Pakistan’s mangrove cover from 1,338 km² in 2016 to 1,573 km² in 2020. Yet in Karachi, this progress is being reversed almost as quickly as saplings take root.
This crisis extends far beyond aesthetics. Mangroves are critical to the survival of coastal communities. They are breeding grounds for fish, crabs, and prawns—foundations of Karachi’s fisheries. Their roots purify polluted water and absorb 18% more carbon dioxide than other plants, helping Karachi—ranked the 23rd most polluted city in the world—breathe easier.
Yet local fishers often do not realize that every tree they lose weakens the very basis of their sustenance. As one observer noted after visiting Korangi and Lyari, families displaced by erosion and land reclamation have been forced to abandon their ancestral livelihoods.
Karachi’s story is not unique. Globally, mangrove forests have declined by 25% since 1980, making them one of the most threatened ecosystems on Earth. In Pakistan, the situation is aggravated by Upstream dams and barrages choking freshwater flows to the delta. Marine pollution and oil spills poisoning roots. Plastic waste, which makes up 65% of coastal litter, entangling and smothering seedlings. Ineffective enforcement of conservation laws, despite Pakistan’s commitments under treaties like the RAMSAR Convention and the Paris Agreement.
Although programs like Mangroves for the Future (MFF) have promised a new era of Integrated Coastal Management, the reality is that mangroves are still treated as wasteland, ripe for plunder.
Experts agree that conserving existing mangroves is more effective—and far cheaper—than trying to plant new ones. It is time to move beyond plantation drives for photo-ops and confront the nexus of corruption, greed, and neglect.
Strict legal enforcement to end illegal allotments and hold land grabbers accountable. Community ownership of conservation, including education programs to show fishers how mangroves protect their livelihoods. Real-time satellite monitoring to detect and prevent encroachments. An integrated national strategy—backed by federal and provincial commitment—to treat the Arabian Sea coast as a priceless ecological asset, not a speculative commodity.
If this transformation does not happen, Karachi’s mangroves could vanish within our lifetimes—leaving the city defenceless against storms, stripped of biodiversity, and suffocating under worsening pollution.
And when the waves come crashing in, no wall of concrete will protect us the way these forests once did.