The book From Mountain To Mangroves - Protecting Pakistan's Natural Heritage by Rina Saeed Khan offers diversified input on the topic. Let us dig deeper and see how the book being discussed, published in 2017, is relevant today when it comes to prioritising climate change mitigating strategies.
The book deals with the burning issue of climate change and subsequent catastrophic conditions. One of the salient features of the book is the first-hand experiences of the author in terms of visiting various sites and traveling across the provinces and coming up with concrete examples when it comes to talking about climate-induced vulnerabilities and the very reasons behind it. While highlighting the issue of climate change-induced vulnerabilities, the author has painstakingly pointed out human interference in the natural order by unchecked urbanisation development projects, deforestation, blockage of waterways, and murder of indigenous trees, ultimately causing climate-related emergency of biblical proportions.
She has authored success stories of climate mitigating strategies adopted by local people in conjunction with NGOs, WWF, and other non-governmental organisations all over the country that have started bearing fruit in terms of conservation of natural heritage, i.e., conservation of trees, regenerating plants, and safeguarding the remaining old order - natural heritage (conserving birds, trees, plants, etc.). In doing so, communities have not only built a dam against the onslaught of climate change but also protected their sources of survival - farming, fishing, and cultivating orchards of fruits, and the dry fruits like the Chilgoza, etc.
From Karakoram Highway to Keti Bunder, the author has highlighted the hardships of the population bearing the brunt of climate change. Besides, the writer has shed light on the beautiful cultural colours of various regions and communities. After reading this, one is quite convinced that a home-made solution in terms of prioritising the empowerment of local communities by offering alternative solutions to certain issues of fuelwood and rampage caused by tourists and careless urban planning causing cultural disruption and ecological baggage for all sundry in the country is needed.
Exposing an Elitist Approach to the Environment
All this was about to change in 2003 as the Punjab government was planning an ambitious New Muree Project, comprising a Rs 40 billion tourist resort and township project, spread over 4,000 acres of reserved forest land in Patriata, Punjab. When the massive earthquake of 2005 struck the Kashmir region, the project was put into cold storage but only briefly.
“There is an active fault line that runs just Patriata forest – here, you can see it on this map. This is restricted information, by the way. I managed to get a copy from the Turkish team that conducted a recent seismic survey in the region,” I was told by Arshad Abbasi while we sat in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) office in Islamabad.
Arshad is a writer, researcher, and a local resident of the area who was very concerned about the New Muree Project. I had thought that the earthquake had effectively shelved the project; how could the construction of luxurious 'seven star hotels, and an '18-hole golf course' be justified when just further north, nine districts of Pakistan had been devastated. Then there were the lessons learnt from the earthquake itself: most of the deaths that occurred in Pakistan's Azad Jammu and Kashmir region were due to landslides which swept away homes and schools located on heavily deforested land.
I was mistaken in imagining that we might have learnt something from the earthquake: the new Muree Project may have come to halt for a few months but the Punjab government was determined to continue with this project. It seemed that the project of 'developing' 4,111 acres of thick pine forest was just too alluring. Thankfully, the Supreme court of Pakistan took suo moto action against the project in 2005 but the New Muree Development Authority (NMDA) gave the court a guarantee that the environment would not be damaged.
Massive deforestation began in the 1990s. Between 1990 and 2000, Pakistan lost an average of 41,000 ha of forest per year with an average annual deforestation rate of 1.63%. Between 2000 and 2005, the rate increased to 2.02% per annum. In all, between 1990 and 2005, Pakistan lost 24.7% of its forest cover, or around 625,000 ha. The greatest victims were the coniferous forests of the lower Himalayan belt: Muree, Patriata, Galiyat, including the forests of AJK and Kaghan-Naran Valley.
Today, according to WWF-Pakistan, Pakistan has a tree cover of only around 2.5% which is to be the amongst the lowest in the South Asian region. It would be natural to assume that the government would take steps to try to save what was left of these precious moist temperate forest. However, when we reached Patriata we realised that this logic somehow did not not appeal to the NMDA.
The British, on the other hand, had the sense to declare the forests of Muree and Patriata to be 'reserved forests' way back in 1887, to be protected not only for the region but also to harvest the monsoon rains and feed the river system below. The British actually called Patriata 'little England' after planting oak and chestnut trees on its mountainsides. Today, Patriata is awash with mature trees and its forested ridges offer magnificent views.
Manchar lake was once a tourist destination; a wetland which was a haven for migratory waterfowl. Over the years, a lack of adequate rainfall and an influx of chemical effluents began playing havoc with it
Finally in 2008, after an extended media and legal campaign led by a coalition of environmental organisations and with the coming of the new government of Shahbaz Sharif in Punjab, the proposed tourism development project in Patriata was put to a stop.
Pakistan's Supreme Court not only formalised the new government's dissolution of the New Muree Development Project but also ruled that there should be no future projects of that kind in the area. WWF-Pakistan, which had become a party to the case, was delighted that an important watershed and habitat had been saved. Ifthikar Muhammad Chaudhry, Chief justice of the Supreme court at the time, must be credited for using his authority (in September 2005) to halt the project pending a judicial review of the proposal. Pakistan was saved from the nightmare scenario of thousands of trees being felled, the fragile ecosystem of Patriata being damaged beyond repair, and wildlife habitats destroyed overnight merely to develop a playground for the elite.
Lakes becoming polluted
Manchar lake is Asia's second largest lake and Pakistan's largest shallow water natural lake. The lake is only around 3m deep and it is difficult to believe that beneath its smooth and silvery surface, the lake water is full of toxins which have caused migratory birds to flee, destroyed the local agriculture, devastated the Mohanna (fishermen) community, and brought death to people living in nearby cities. In the summer of 2004, hundreds of people in Hyderabad city in Sindh (and further down the Indus River) fell ill after drinking the poisonous water of Manchar lake which had been allowed to enter the city's water supply.
A fact-finding report conducted by Pakistan's Human Rights Commission squarely blamed the lake's toxic waters for the disaster. According to Naseer, the water in the lake began becoming polluted in 2000, probably following Sindh Province's six-year long drought. Manchar lake was once a tourist destination; a wetland which was a haven for migratory waterfowl and home to a thriving community of Mohannas and agriculturalists who raised crops around the lake's shallow bed. Over the years, a paucity of adequate rainfall and an influx of chemical effluents released into the lake began playing havoc with it.
Around 900 cusecs of water from the Keenjhar lake are pumped daily into Karachi's water supply. According to WWF-Pakistan, apart from pollution, the principal threats to the Keenjhar lake area are over fishing, illegal hunting of small mammals, birds and reptiles, deforestation, and the extensive use of agrochemicals which find their way into the lake through run-off. Upstream from Jamshoro, a number of industries on the banks of the river dump their chemical effluents into the Indus. There is no one to stop them from doing so despite the passage of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act of 1997 which is rarely enforced.
It is estimated that only around 1% of industrial wastewater in Pakistan is treated before being dumped into nearby canals and rivers. This is toxic water, teeming with chemicals persistent carcinogenic organic pollutants. Currently, 47% of Pakistan's population is living without safe drinking water. Hospital records indicate that about 80% of the diseases are waterborne or airborne. The nation's health bill has increased quite significantly just because the local and provincial governments are not ensuring that the sources of their local water supply are cleaned up.
Karachi Becoming Warmer
The recent report released by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP), titled Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2025: Rising Heat, Rising Risk, stated that urban areas are already at high risk for extreme heat due to the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Densely built surfaces trap heat and raise city temperatures above those of surrounding rural areas. According to this report, Karachi is among the nine -Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing, Delhi, Karachi, Dhaka, Manila, Jakarta and Phnom Penh - densely built megacities in Asia and the Pacific which are particularly vulnerable to heat and are projected to become substantially hotter in the years ahead. It added that this challenge is being exacerbated by rapid and often unplanned urbanisation and insufficient green spaces, further warning that UHI would raise temperatures by 2 to 7°C, on top of global warming.
As access to cooling, water and healthcare comes under increased strain, children, the elderly and outdoor workers in densely populated urban areas are disproportionately affected. Higher-income areas usually lie in cooler, greener neighbourhoods, exacerbating issues of equity and environmental justice, the report says. It added that during the period 2041–2060, countries projected to be the most arid include Mongolia, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Turkmenistan, as higher temperatures evaporate more surface water, drying out soils and vegetation and causing droughts and water shortages. The report made it clear that rising temperatures are "impacting all, every where", with expanding and intensifying risks to food systems, public health, urban living, rural livelihoods, infrastructure and ecosystem.
The Cry Against the Cutting of Karoonjhar
Recently, the legal fraternity took out rallies and staged demonstrations near the Sindh Chief Minister House demanding withdrawal of an appeal of Sindh government challenging a judgement of the Sindh High Court handed down for the protection and preservation of the Karoonjhar mountain range. The Sindh High Court had also ruled "The Karoonjhar hills, are not available for excavation of any nature whatsoever except excavation for discovering historical monuments and that too after following international guidelines and the archaeological department".
Reportedly, the ecological importance of Karoonjhar Mountain in the Tharparkar district of Sindh is significant due to its unique and diverse ecosystem in an otherwise arid region. The mountain range supports a variety of rare plant species—154 rare plants and 26 rare mammals—as well as various birds and flowers adapted to desert conditions. It is one of the only sources of clean, sweet drinking water in the area through its natural springs, which are crucial for both people and wildlife in the region. The granite rocks underlying Karoonjhar also play a vital role in protecting Tharparkar's groundwater from becoming brackish by seawater intrusion. Ecologically, it serves as a habitat refuge for animals such as deer, stags, and vultures, and supports important vegetation that helps sustain biodiversity.
However, mining activities and deforestation are threatening this ecological balance, causing habitat loss and water resource depletion. Local ecosystems are sensitive, and disruption could have severe impacts on the water supply and biodiversity of the wider region. Due to this ecological and cultural significance, there are calls to recognise Karoonjhar as national heritage for its preservation and protection of biodiversity and natural heritage in Tharparkar. The voices of those protesting against the destruction of Karoonjhar mountain must be heard and valued. It's imperative that policymakers prioritise ecological justice and long-term sustainability over short-sighted gains. We can't afford to ignore the devastating impact of environmental degradation on our planet and its inhabitants.
Polluting Earth's Lungs
Recently the Agha khan University Hospital uploaded alarming news of climbing curve of cardiovascular disease on its Facebook page that reads: "Pakistan is experiencing one of the world’s most severe cardiovascular disease crises but it also has a unique opportunity to reverse the trend. Pakistan has the highest the highest rates of heart disease in South Asia, and among the worst globally." Cardiovascular disease accounts for 262.4 deaths per 100,000 people. Risk factors includes: Rising hypertension, Diabetes and obesity, Air pollution, Weak healthcare system, Poverty and limited access to care.
Forests and mountains are said to be the Earth's lungs. Interfering with these is akin to pushing the planet to ecological pneumonia. At the end of the day, the population is going to suffer in every context. The recurring smog in Punjab is a stark reminder of the urgent need for concrete actions to address climate change-induced vulnerabilities. It's high time for policymakers to move beyond rhetoric and take tangible steps to mitigate the effects of climate change, ensuring a healthier and more sustainable environment for the population.
Plastic pollution continues to haunt us in the face of faltering promises of placing a ban on its use. According to WWF-Pakistan, Satellite imagery from 2024–25 shows a similar pattern of active fire detections across Pakistan. Crop residue burning is visible, especially along the border. But the story doesn’t end there. Despite the red dots on the map, agricultural burning is only one part of a much bigger air-quality crisis. Pakistan’s smog is also fuelled by urban and industrial pollution, vehicular emissions, and regional wind patterns that carry haze across borders. Real progress requires coordinated action across sectors, including cleaner transport with better fuel quality and vehicle fitness, stronger industrial regulation, and support for sustainable farming.
In 2022, the monsoon on steroids left Sindh in a devastated state, whereas in 2025, Punjab faced the same scenario in every imaginable way, suggesting erratic weather unleashing death, displacement, and destruction of crops and infrastructure. Leading experts in climate, food security, health and security have reportedly warned that "Starvation, economic collapse, civil unrest and wars are among the risks we face if we don't take decisive action to limit further warming and preserve nature."
Rina Saeed Khan's book informs the reader that protecting Pakistan's Natural Heritage is a ticket to environmental health, economic sustainability, i.e., livelihoods, and ultimately fostering social cohesion. Those living in glass houses should come down to see the bigger picture of environmental degradation caused by unplanned urbanisation and an elitist approach to climate calls. Those in the decision-making centres need to realise the ground realities and finally grasp the gravity of the situation that instead of concrete jungles, Pakistan needs forests, mountains, detoxified lakes, rivers, birds, mammals, and conservation of climate-friendly trees like the Junipers and conservation of the mangrove forests - a natural shield against cyclones and sea intrusion, etc.
Capitalist considerations accompanied by colonial thinking, i.e., neglecting local communities and indigenous people - the frontline victims of climate-induced calamities, will prove to be a textbook case of climate disaster in the years to come. At COP 30 in Brazil, various state authorities from the Global South sought grants in climate finance to mitigate climate cruelty. What those at the helm of the country's affairs in the Global South need to realise is that home-made mitigating mechanisms can turn the table. Expecting the Global North - the very responsible party for climate change - won't be any help, as we see their announced commitments continue to falter. Self-reliance and localised solutions will be a sustainable solution to invading climate change. Foreign prescriptions have hardly healed national wounds. Protecting National Heritage is a measure to build societies stronger and climate resilient.
Ecological apathy should be replaced with ecological empathy in order to make Pakistan clean, green, and ecologically liveable. I wish someone would give a copy of From Mountain To Mangroves - Protecting Pakistan's Natural Heritage to those in decision-making centres, i.e., climate policy makers.