Mangrove forest has potential to yield $20-50m revenue

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ISLAMABAD:

Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar has stated that Pakistan has the largest contiguous arid mangrove forest in South Asia, primarily located in the Indus Delta region of Sindh, which possesses the potential to generate annual revenue of $20-50 million depending on market prices and volumes.

In a message on the occasion of the International Day for the Conservation of Mangrove Ecosystem, the minister said that Sindh's Delta Blue Carbon project, covering over 350,000 hectares, has already generated $40 million in carbon credit sales and is projected to generate billions over the coming decades.

"Given Balochistan's significantly smaller mangrove area spread over 4,058 hectares and similar carbon sequestration value per hectare, its annual potential will be proportionally less but still meaningful as part of Pakistan's broader carbon market strategy," he pointed out.

The Delta Blue Carbon project is a public-private partnership between the government of Sindh and Indus Delta Capital, launched in 2015. It aims to restore and protect mangrove forests across more than 3,500 square kilometres of the Indus Delta.

Highlighting the project's global significance, the minister noted that millions of carbon credits are being generated through mangrove forests in Sindh's coastal belt. "Mangroves absorb four times more carbon compared to ordinary trees," he said, underlining their unmatched value in climate mitigation.

"We are successfully implementing mangrove rehabilitation programmes in Sindh and Balochistan and these coastal forests are proving to be a vital natural shield against shoreline erosion and flooding," he said.

The minister added that the future of fisheries, coastal tourism and sustainable resource management is deeply connected with the health of mangrove ecosystems as their decline threatens the foundation of these vital sectors and the wellbeing of coastal communities.