Miracle Trees

Tariq Qaiser is steering a small boat through a swamp. He’s on Bundal Island, near Karachi, Pakistan. Qaiser is here to document × document TANG MING TUNG—GETTY IMAGES to create a record of something (verb) Mom takes photographs to document our lives. the illegal cutting of the island’s mangrove trees. On some days, “you can’t hear a single bird because the chain saws are so loud,” he says.

The boat passes a pile of mangrove branches. They were cut for firewood. Qaiser shakes his head. He shoots a video with his phone. Later, he’ll post it on social media.

IT'S A LIVING These mangrove branches will likely be sold as firewood or building material.

Karachi is home to 16 million people. And it’s getting bigger. The city sits on the Arabian Sea. Offshore, there are islands where mangroves grow. Illegal logging is not the only danger to these trees. Developers want to clear them away too. That would make room for new buildings.

Karachi has a hot climate. Its buildings and paved roads make it even hotter. Mangroves “are our air-conditioning, our oxygen supply,” says Qaiser, who is an architect. “If you just increase the mangrove cover, Karachi’s next 30 years will be much better than if you build over them.”

Numbers Up

THE LONG VIEW Qaiser and his team navigate a swamp on Bundal Island.

Mangroves grow near shorelines. Their forests pull carbon dioxide from the air. They hold four times as much of the planet-warming gas as other forests can. They could also protect coastal cities like Karachi as sea levels rise. The danger of flooding has increased with global warming.

PROTECTING THE COAST These mangroves are on Bundal Island, near Karachi, Pakistan.

Karachi’s mangroves are disappearing. But their numbers are rising in other parts of Pakistan. The country has been replanting the trees. Its mangrove coverage has tripled in the past 30 years. The trees are making a comeback elsewhere in the world too. Mangroves are now one of the best-protected trees on Earth. But what about Karachi’s mangroves?

Uncertain Future

ON A MISSION Tariq Qaiser visits Bundal Island. The mangrove forest here is in danger because of Karachi’s expansion.

Qaiser’s social-media campaign × campaign NUZULU—GETTY IMAGES a series of activities designed to produce a particular result (noun) We started a campaign to save an endangered bird. might have worked, sort of. In February, a court in Karachi declared Bundal Island’s mangroves to be protected forests. But unforested parts of the island remain unprotected. City officials say building there could provide much-needed housing. It would also bring in billions of dollars. That money could be used to plant mangroves elsewhere in Pakistan, the officials say.

Ecologist Rafiul Haq wishes Qaiser would look at the bigger picture. Only 7% of Pakistan’s mangroves are in Karachi, Haq says. He thinks it’s wrong “to focus on the losses in 7% [of the country] while ignoring the success in 93%” of it. Qaiser believes it’s important to protect every bit. “If you make it acceptable to destroy forest right in front of the city, what happens when the city expands?” he says. “Where does it stop?”

Flooding in Pakistan

Pakistan recently had its worst flooding in living memory. In August, the country got three times its usual rainfall. One-third of Pakistan was under water. Millions of people have lost or left their homes. Emergency aid has reached the country. But damaged roads have made it hard to get help to people. Experts say Pakistan hasn’t done enough to prepare for climate disasters. Global warming probably helped cause the unusually heavy rains. —By Brian S. McGrath