A short drive on the traffic-laden roads of Karachi makes one thing clear, greenery is hard to spot in the city. Perhaps this is the observation that drives the notion in many people’s minds that the scorching rising temperature of the city is due to the lack of trees in the area. With such a mindset, Mustafa Kamal, in 2008, being the mayor of Karachi of the time, assigned 10 billion rupees for the increase of greenery in the city under the Karachi 2020 Strategic Plan. Such a massive undertaking seemed to signal the beginning of a truly green Karachi, starting with the planting of Conocarpus trees. Alas, it was not so.
The land of Karachi has always been rough and planting exotic trees has been a longstanding pattern of the government; seeds of the non-native plant mesquite were scattered throughout the city. Another episode was when eucalyptus trees could be spotted on every road of Karachi. It soon became obvious that the plants were detrimental to the city when the roots started damaging sewage pipes, the infrastructure of roads, foundations of buildings, and absorbing underground water at an accelerated rate.
An announcement that seemed like the saving grace of the city quickly soured. Conocarpus Erectus is an exotic tree species that initially belongs to the wetlands of America. The species indeed thrives in coastal areas as it lives a long life despite the searing heat, sunlight, and excess salt in the soil. Conocarpus, known more by the name of Buttonwood, was picked to be planted in Karachi as it is a coastal city but it was not only sown in the areas near located near the sea, saplings of the species were planted in every corner. As Karachi is sprawled over thousands of acres of land, planting the plants in towns that are far away from the beach was an unnecessary move.
The decision of such a mass plantation was mostly to improve the beauty of the landscape of the city. The jarring fact is that the Sindh’s local parks department did not heed experts’ advice when they voiced their concern that Conocarpus should not be brought over to the city. It was made clear to the authorities that the species should not be placed in an urban area. Concerns were raised that the plantation of a single species is detrimental to the environment as it creates a monoculture. Monoculture of such a big scale was abhorred by the environment conservatives because it forces many birds to migrate; if Karachi wishes to see different kinds of birds inhabiting the sky, different species of trees are needed for them to reproduce and thrive.
Pubic and the local government held the belief that the predicament of increasing temperature can be solved by planting trees. Experts refute this claim as they explain that the culprit of the rising temperatures is urbanization. It can easily be understood through the phenomenon of “urban heat islands”. The sudden and constant expansion of the city with its high-rise buildings and bitumen roads absorb sun rays during the day and expel heat throughout the atmosphere. As long as the gross development of Karachi continues, the temperatures will continue to rise and no amount of trees can battle that effect.
Dr. Anjum Parveen, a senior botanist at Karachi University conducted a study during which she found that in their blooming season, pollen grains from Conocarpus spread in the air and cause allergy. The biggest effect is on the respiratory system of the people of Karachi and they suffer each season. Upon acknowledgment of the damage, the authorities made a feeble attempt to contain the pollen situation by trimming some trees in their bloom season. This strategy was not effective because the number of trees was many and the resources were not enough. The government was successful in completing such a large-scale plantation but when it came to tackling the problem, it lacked the necessary administrative planning for the removal of the problem species.
Dr. Parveen went on to say, “most plants having airborne pollen cause allergy and shouldn’t be planted in cities. This health problem caused by Conocarpus is not of a serious nature, though, more worrisome is its extensive root system which damages infrastructure and service lines”, a fact which has made itself known since the plantation. She went on to suggest the obvious yet vital point that the department responsible for plantation should consult botanists before choosing any species for the city.
Health experts at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) are urging the public to stop cutting down Conocarpus trees. A sudden campaign started in Karachi which influenced people enough to start chopping down Conocarpus trees in their areas rapidly. This might seem like a good idea due to the adverse effects on health and infrastructure but as Dr. Zafar Iqbal Shams, who is a senior ecologist at KU’s Institute of Environmental Studies said, “We should remember that there is an extreme shortage of trees in Karachi. I fear that the sudden removal of these trees will contribute to increasing temperature. That’s why I say stop cutting this tree and stop planting any more of this species.”
The alarming truth is that the campaign is a result of the public being roped in on a lack of scientific evidence. Professor Iqbal Afridi of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) voiced his concern that “False information regarding Conocarpus is being circulated largely through social media, lacking scientific grounds with reference to experts’ names along with a false ruling by the Sindh High Court, claiming its plantation illegal.” He further connects it to similar past events, “Similar disinformation was spread in the past when a large number of Eucalyptus plants were officially destroyed as they were declared anti-environment without any scientific basis.”
Syed Muzammil, an activist and representative of the Jamaat-i-Islami youth wing of Gulshan-i-Iqbal was leading the campaign. When he was asked if the campaign’s removal demand is backed by an expert, he had no appropriate answer. He only said, “The name of the exotic species is mentioned only with the purpose to create awareness that the plant is not environment friendly.”
Javed Mahar of the forest department made a statement in which he mentioned that the department is completely against the plantation of Conocarpus but he also said, “But, we also believe that a long time is needed to replace it with native species. The rule of thumb all over the world is to encourage native species.”
All experts seem to agree that Conocarpus does not belong in the metropolitan city of Karachi. They need to be removed and should be replaced with native trees that are beneficial to the people and do not damage the infrastructure. However, this process needs to be carried over a long period because immediate cutting down of Conocarpus will harm the environment even more. Since Conocarpus trees line every other street of Karachi, it is safe to estimate that the removal process will take quite a long time once it is started.
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