Experts urge protection of Karachi's natural waterways

Environmental experts, legal professionals, urban planners, writers, and civil society representatives underscored the urgent need to safeguard the city’s natural drainage channels and ecological balance. They were speaking at a session, held under the theme 'Obstructions and Risks to Karachi’s Natural Waterways' at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Friday.

The gatheirng highlighted the vital role of the Malir and Lyari rivers, along with their connected streams and tributaries, in maintaining Karachi’s ecological balance and providing natural flood drainage. Participants stressed that the survival of these waterways and their ecosystems was essential for the city’s safety and long-term sustainability.

Speakers demanded that both the Malir and Lyari rivers be formally recognised as “living waterways” and that all obstructions, encroachments, and illegal constructions along their courses be removed. They further emphasised that any future construction on these natural waterways should be completely banned to preserve the city’s ecological resilience.

A resolution was unanimously passed during the session. It called for Karachi’s peri-urban areas, particularly Malir, Gadap, Moedan, and Kathore, be declared permanent green zones and rural territories.

This, the resolution argued, would protect farmlands and centuries-old villages from being consumed by rapidly expanding housing schemes and would allow agricultural lands to retain their vital importance.

The resolution also demanded strict enforcement of the existing ban on sand and gravel extraction from the Malir river and its tributaries, warning that such activities compromise the structure of the waterways and disrupt natural flows.

The participants urged the government to classify Malir district’s agricultural land permanently as a green zone in the city’s master plan. They further called for restoration of leased lands, grabbed by mafia, to local farmers, while providing subsidies to farmers to strengthen local food production and maintain ecological balance.

Concerns were also raised about the destruction of mangrove forests and other coastal ecological assets, with participants demanding an immediate halt to deforestation, encroachments, and degradation of coastal resources. Effective programmes should instead be launched to restore and expand mangrove coverage, they said.

Speakers stressed that in the face of climate change, rapid population growth, and unplanned urban sprawl, Karachi must urgently adopt modern and sustainable global planning standards. This includes the enforcement of safe housing and construction regulations as well as the formulation of a robust disaster management plan.

They also insisted on a total ban on the dumping of toxic industrial and chemical waste into the Malir river or any natural waterway. Industries, they said, must be forced to dispose of their waste through modern waste management systems, and unchecked extraction of groundwater for industrial and commercial use should be prohibited to safeguard the city’s water reserves.

Participants also urged that further construction of Shahrae Bhutto be subjected to an impartial environmental assessment. Any land exposed by the highway’s extension near the Malir river, they proposed, should be utilised for forest development to restore ecological balance.

Concluding the session, participants declared that Karachi’s future could not be secured without sustainable, environmentally safe, and socially just urban planning.

The session was attended by legal expert Abira Ashfaq, KPC Secretary Sohail Afzal Khan, Kazim Hussain Mahesar, Hafeez Baloch of the Indigenous Rights Alliance, urban planner Muhammad Tohid, Professor Dr Abubakar Baloch, environmentalist Darya Khan, historian and writer Azeem Dehqan, and several others.