WWF - Pakistan

Heavy monsoon rains continue to affect communities across Pakistan, exposing the growing challenges our cities face in managing stormwater and urban infrastructure. While intense rainfall is beyond our control, the severity of urban flooding is often made worse by preventable factors. Improperly disposed waste, particularly single-use plastics and other litter, can block drains and stormwater systems, restricting the natural flow of water and increasing flood risk. Building more resilient cities requires collective action. By reducing our reliance on single-use plastics and disposing of waste responsibly, each of us can contribute to cleaner drainage systems and help reduce the impacts of urban flooding. #Monsoon #UrbanFlooding #PlasticPollution #WasteManagement

Recent monsoon rains have unleashed widespread flooding across Pakistan.  Torrential rainfall over the upper catchments of major rivers, coupled with continued downpours across Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan, has caused rivers to swell, inundating low-lying communities and agricultural lands. These satellite radar images, captured between 13 and 25 July 2026, reveal the rapid expansion of floodwaters along the River Ravi near Manga Mandi, Lahore. The imagery shows floodwaters extending beyond the main river channel into surrounding floodplains, with increasing inundation observed around Nizar Abad, Buchoki Par, Ganesh Pur, Jugglian Bahlu, Heerian Gorh, and Bahari Pur.  The expanding extent of surface water highlights the growing impact of the floods and the escalating risks faced by nearby settlements, farmland, and critical infrastructure, reflecting the increasing intensity of extreme weather events and the need for timely disaster response, preparedness, and climate resilience.

On World Mangrove Day, WWF-Pakistan celebrates a story of recovery from the Indus Delta, where restoring mangroves has meant more than planting trees. Through an integrated Nature-based Solutions approach combining area-based management, community stewardship, restoration, sustainable fisheries, freshwater security and science-based monitoring, targeted mangrove landscapes are showing measurable signs of recovery. GIS analysis of the BMZ-supported project areas across eight clusters recorded a 33.64% overall increase in mangrove cover between 2020 and 2025. When ecosystems and communities are strengthened together, restoration can create lasting change. #WorldMangroveDay #NatureBasedSolutions #IndusDelta #WWFPakistan

The videos are impossible to ignore. But they don't tell the whole story. Long before the floodwaters surged through our valleys and towns, forests had been degraded, watersheds weakened, and natural buffers lost. These are the quieter stories that rarely go viral—but they help shape what happens when extreme rainfall arrives. Disaster response is essential. So is investing in healthy ecosystems that reduce risk before disaster strikes. What the videos show is the crisis. What they don't show is what we must fix.

As #Pakistan faces yet another monsoon season marked by heavy rains and flash floods, the question is no longer only how we respond to disasters, but how we build resilience before they occur. Deforestation, unplanned urbanisation and encroachment on floodplains are weakening the natural systems that once helped absorb, slow and regulate water. In the face of escalating climate impacts, this loss of natural resilience, combined with weak infrastructure and institutional gaps, is putting lives, livelihoods and ecosystems at increasing risk. Nature-based Solutions (#NbS) offer a critical part of the way forward. By restoring wetlands, protecting forests, revitalising watersheds, restoring natural drainage pathways and strengthening green infrastructure, we can work with nature to reduce climate risks while protecting biodiversity and supporting communities. As Haider Raza, Director NbS / Regional Head North, WWF-Pakistan emphasises, urgent reforms and better watershed management are essential to building resilience in Pakistan's ecologically vital mountain systems. To read more about Nature-based Solutions and WWF-Pakistan’s work on building climate resilience, find our Natura issue here: https://lnkd.in/eK5VEKuX

The devastating floods of recent years have highlighted a critical lesson: protecting communities requires action before disaster strikes. In Namli Maira, Nathia Gali, a girls' high school located in a flood-prone area faced recurring risks from erosion and intense runoff. To strengthen protection around the school, gabion bunds were constructed as part of a hybrid nature-based approach, helping to stabilise slopes, slow water flow, and reduce soil erosion while working with the surrounding landscape to enhance resilience. As climate change continues to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events across Pakistan, interventions like these demonstrate how proactive, nature-based approaches can reduce disaster risks, safeguard communities, and build long-term resilience. This intervention was implemented under the Water Resource Accountability in Pakistan (WRAP) Programme, with financial support from the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). Watch the full video here: https://lnkd.in/dxan7NEe

As Pakistan continues to face intense and unpredictable rainfall and flash floods, the need to strengthen our resilience to climate-related disasters has never been more urgent. The true cost of floods extends beyond the immediate loss of lives and infrastructure, affecting livelihoods, ecosystems and communities for years to come. In this issue of Natura, Muhammad Fawad Hayat, Senior Director Recharge Pakistan, explores how ecosystem-based solutions, stronger governance and innovative financing can contribute to building a more flood-resilient Pakistan. Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/d2x-Ph9y

Happy World Emoji Day! We use them every single day, but let's be honest... can they ever really capture how nature makes us feel? The colours, sounds and feeling of being outdoors are so much richer than any icon could ever show. Nature is meant to be experienced, not just symbolised! So today, why not step outside and find your favourite "emoji" in real life? #WWFPakistan #WorldEmojiDay

This Plastic Free July, WWF-Pakistan, in collaboration with Elixir School, invites Kindergarten to Grade 6 students and their parents to participate in the Plastic Free July Walkathon 2026. Through interactive learning, a community walkathon, a park clean-up, and hands-on recycling activities, participants will discover how everyday choices can help reduce plastic pollution. Event Details 📅 Saturday, 25 July 2026 🕢 7:30 AM – 11:30 AM 📍 Elixir School, North Nazimabad, Karachi 🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/d2Bv5_M2 ⏳ Registrations close on 23 July 2026 or once all seats are filled. #PlasticFreeJuly #PlasticFreeJulyWalkathon #WWFPakistan #NatureConservation