Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Coordinator Saif Ur Rehman said on Sunday that protecting wetlands in Pakistan is a practical defence against climate breakdown, economic insecurity and ecological collapse.
Addressing a seminar held here in connection with World Wetlands Day, he suggested the government to strengthen enforcement against encroachment, ensure environmental impact assessments are credible and transparent, and integrate wetland conservation into provincial land-use planning. Equally vital is restoring environmental flows to the Indus Delta so that mangroves can survive in the long term, he added.
The FTO Coordinator said, Pakistan had repeatedly been battered by catastrophic floods, therefore investing in wetland restoration should be central to disaster management planning instead of treating the wetlands as wasteland. Beyond the coast, he mentioned, Pakistan’s wetlands are under mounting stress, because urban encroachment, industrial effluent, solid waste dumping and ill-planned infrastructure projects have degraded lakes such as Manchhar and Haleji. Reduced river flows, driven by upstream diversions and erratic rainfall patterns, have further altered fragile ecosystems. The result is a steady decline in biodiversity, including migratory bird population that once thrived in these habitats. Saif Ur Rehman said, “Mangroves are not decorative greenery; they are living infrastructure. They buffer coastal communities against cyclones and storm surges, reduce erosion, store vast amounts of carbon and sustain fisheries that support thousands of livelihoods in Sindh.”
Wetlands are among the most effective natural tools for climate adaptation. They absorb floodwaters, recharge aquifers and filter pollutants. He highlighted that some of the country’s most valuable natural assets and its mangroves, lakes, marshes and riverine floodplain are vanishing quietly, even as climate shocks grow louder.