Where barren land once offered little respite from the city's concrete sprawl, 5,150 trees and plants are now taking root in a bid to bring nature back into Karachi's increasingly built-up landscape.
Spread over five acres at the Sindh Governor House, the newly established urban forest, named Quaid-e-Azam Forest, uses Japan's Miyawaki technique to create dense greenery in a limited space. The plantation features a variety of fruit-bearing, flowering and shade-providing trees, with a particular focus on species suited to Karachi's local environment.
The initiative comes as the metropolis continues to lose its natural green cover to rapid construction and tree-cutting. Over the past three decades, the depletion of trees and open spaces has increasingly affected the city's environment, while intense heat, recurring heatwaves and unpredictable rainfall have underscored its vulnerability to climate change.
The project aims to expand urban greenery, improve air quality, help moderate temperatures and provide a natural habitat for birds, butterflies and other wildlife. According to Dr Saifur Rehman, Principal Secretary to the Governor House, the forest was established on the special instructions of Governor Nihal Hashmi and named after the founder of Pakistan as a tribute to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah on the occasion of his 150th birth anniversary.
He said indigenous trees had been given priority in the plantation, which includes neem, gulmohar, tecoma, tamarind, jungle jalebi, red almond, ficus, mulberry, day king, pomegranate, jamun, rose apple, guava, night-flowering jasmine, coconut, bougainvillea, chhatian, moringa, ber, sapodilla, mango, hareez, lasoora, parthenium vine, sukh chain and lemon, among other varieties.
The selection of species suited to the local climate is intended to strengthen the urban ecosystem and promote biodiversity, he added.
Dr Saif said the initiative needed to be replicated across Karachi, with indigenous trees planted in neighbourhoods, educational institutions, parks, government-owned land and other available spaces. Trees, he said, should be treated as an essential part of everyday life rather than merely as decorative features. Without regular care and maintenance, he added, plantation drives would struggle to deliver lasting environmental benefits.
He also pointed to the impact of shrinking tree cover on the city's birdlife. There was a time when parrots, bulbuls and mynas were a familiar presence in Karachi's trees, their calls a common feature of neighbourhoods. With the loss of trees, many of these birds have become increasingly scarce.
Sparrows, which once nested in the ventilators and small openings of houses, are also less frequently seen in several areas. Children, meanwhile, are growing increasingly disconnected from nature and the butterflies that once formed a familiar part of their surroundings.
The forest uses Japan's Miyawaki technique, which involves planting different tree species close together in a relatively small area. With suitable soil, adequate watering and regular maintenance, the method can promote faster growth and create dense vegetation resembling a natural forest.
The approach is considered useful in densely populated cities such as Karachi, where space for large green areas is increasingly limited. Alongside the plantation, a digital forest mapping system is being planned to document the trees, monitor their growth and maintain a record of biodiversity within the site. The proposed system will use tools including Google Earth, QField, QGIS and PlantNet to map the forest, record GPS coordinates, identify plant species through photographs and store information collected during field surveys.
Under the plan, the forest will be divided into zones, with an individual record maintained for each tree. Photographs of leaves, bark, flowers and other identifying features will help verify species and document their geographical distribution.
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