Pakistani environmentalist turns barren wasteland into urban forest in Karachi

This handout photograph released on November 27, 2023, shows a flock of greater flamingo (phoenicopterus roseus) at the Clifton beach in Karachi. Tucked away in an unchecked urban sprawl, flamingos and Dalmatian pelicans laze in the shallow wetlands’ azure waters near the Pakistani coast. (Handout/AN Photo)

• Masood Lohar says the forest on Clifton beach is home to over 700,000 trees and 140 bird species
• Karachi’s urbanization has put pressure on open spaces, as developers eye every inch for construction

KARACHI: Over three years ago, Masood Lohar, a passionate Pakistani environmentalist, embarked on a mission to breathe new life into a desolate 220-acre landfill on Karachi’s Clifton beach. 
Today, the barren wasteland is a thriving urban forest, home to over 700,000 trees and a vibrant community of over 140 bird species that find sanctuary in its lush greenery and an adjacent lagoon.
“This particular place was a dump site,” Lohar said as he pointed to the trees around him, the first of which he planted exactly 46 months ago. 
“We cleaned the whole mess and then we started bringing soil from outside and started this plantation.” 
Lohar said the Sindh administration supported his venture by granting official permission to work on the forest and allocating Rs50 million ($179,540), which made its development possible.
The site, called the Clifton Urban Forest, is now a flourishing marine ecosystem, home to over 100 plant species, including native mangroves, fruit trees like pomegranates and guavas, and hardy, drought-resistant grass varieties that thrive in Karachi’s harsh climate.
The aim of Lohar’s project is not just beautifying the port city of over 20 million, which often ranks in the world’s top ten most polluted places. The main goal is to restore Karachi’s dwindling marine ecosystem. 
The city, home to the Malir and Lyari rivers, once boasted a network of creeks, lagoons, and estuaries, many of them destroyed or severely degraded over the decades by industrial development and unchecked urban sprawl. The Obhayo Lagoon, once the largest in the area, has all but vanished, while other water bodies have been cut off from the sea, reducing biodiversity and making the city more vulnerable to environmental hazards.
Lohar’s initiative has helped restore a fragment of this ecosystem by reviving a small portion of the Obhayo Lagoon.
“Now you can see that it is providing the services of a lagoon,” said the environmentalist, who has documented the sightings of 140 bird species, including lesser and greater flamingos and Siberian ducks, at the Lagoon since he launched the restoration project.
The forest is now also teeming with insects, honey bees, and native beetles, with the small creatures playing an essential role in pollination and supporting the growth of various plants and trees in the area.
Lohar’s commitment to the environment is deeply personal. A former UN program professional, he witnessed and studied firsthand worsening air quality and environmental degradation in Pakistan’s urban centers.
“I knew at that time that the time will come,” he said, referring to now record-high air pollution levels in Pakistan, particularly in cities like Lahore and Karachi.
“You see, the Pakistani cities at this moment are fighting for their breath because the air quality is getting worse and worse. And the other thing is the [seasonal] heatwaves because concrete is the dominant outlook of our cities.”
Urban forests, like the one Lohar has created, are part of the solution, he said.
Mangroves, in particular, have proven highly effective in sequestering carbon and Lohar estimates that his urban forest, a combination of mangroves and terrestrial trees, captures 6,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to the emissions of nearly 1,300 cars.
Yasir Husain, an environmentalist and founder of the Climate Action Center, said that projects like the Clifton Urban Forest were vital, though such initiatives were insufficient to address the broader environmental challenges faced by Pakistan.
“These are just [pilot projects], and the city’s challenge is enormous,” he told Arab News, adding that finding a bird sanctuary in such a stressed environment was a gratifying experience.
“These are tiny projects, if you look at it from a macro perspective of the whole city, but they’re experiments,” he continued, appreciating that urban forests were maintained despite such challenging circumstances.
Yet despite its success, Lohar’s project faces significant challenges, particularly from real estate development. 
Karachi’s rapid urbanization has increased pressure on open spaces, with developers eyeing every available inch for construction.
The urban forest itself is at risk from a development project being carried out by the Karachi Development Authority (KDA), which Lohar is worried could destroy over 300,000 of the forest’s mangroves.
KDA’s director general did not respond to a request for a comment.
“I’m not sure how that will unfold in the course of time and impact this marine ecosystem project, but I’m sure that it will definitely stress this project,” Lohar said, gesturing toward a marine wall under construction. 
“I have gone through a lot of difficulties and resources-wise and the indifference of the corporate sector and the government brings us on the verge of giving up.