KARACHI: Pakistan Navy has launched a mangrove plantation drive along the country’s southern coast, its Directorate General Public Relations (DGPR) said on Sunday, amid Pakistan’s push for environmental restoration.
Mangrove forests have a critical role in combating climate change, preserving biodiversity, and protecting coastal communities from erosion and natural disasters, environmental experts say.
The latest campaign was launched in collaboration with the forest departments of Pakistan’s Sindh and Balochistan provinces as well as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), according to the DGPR.
Coast Commander Rear Admiral Faisal Amin launched the drive by planting a sapling and said the campaign aims to promote environmental awareness and strengthen coastal resilience.
“The mangrove plantation campaign is part of Pakistan Navy’s environmental protection program, under which the Navy has planted 8.7 million mangroves from Shah Bandar to Jiwani,” the DGPR said.
Pakistan ranks among the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations. The downstream flow of water into its Indus delta has decreased by 80 percent since the 1950s as a result of irrigation canals, hydropower dams and the impacts of climate change on glacial and snow melt, according to a 2018 study by the US-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water. That has led to devastating seawater intrusion.
Due to this decline in flow of fresh water, Sindh forest authorities launched an extensive reforestation drive in the 1990s and planted harder, salt-tolerant mangrove species such as Avicennia marina, Aegiceras corniculatum, Rhizophora mucronata and Ceriops tagal. As a result, the Indus delta now boasts one of the largest arid climate mangrove forests in the world.
These plantation drives have also created employment opportunities for the local populace, according to the DGPR.
“Marine conservation and sustainable development are integral to Pakistan Navy’s environmental initiatives, and this campaign stands as a testament to the Navy’s unwavering commitment to preserving the country’s coastal environment for future generations,” it added.
