Neem saplings and vegetables sprout up from scrubland in the Clifton district of Pakistan's largest city Karachi, in an area that was once a giant, informal rubbish tip. The urban afforestation project in a government-owned park is one of dozens of state-owned and private planting initiatives in Pakistan, where forest cover lags far behind average levels across South Asia. The aim in Clifton is to counterbalance rapid urbanisation in Karachi, a sprawling port city of some 17 million people where breakneck expansion of roads and buildings means there is less and less space for trees and parkland. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro SEARCH "SOOMRO PAKISTAN FOREST" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY TEMPLATE OUT 

Masood Lohar, 54, a development expert who has overseen Clifton Urban Forest, previously a garbage dumping site, checks the height of a tree planted last year in Karachi, Pakistan, July 1, 2022. Lohar said afforestation could help make Karachi more resilient against natural disasters and encourage wildlife to settle. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro SEARCH "SOOMRO PAKISTAN FOREST" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Masood Lohar, 54, a development expert who has overseen Clifton Urban Forest, previously a garbage dumping site, shows eggs laid by moorhen in Karachi, Pakistan July 1, 2022. Lohar said afforestation could help make Karachi more resilient against natural disasters and encourage wildlife to settle. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro SEARCH "SOOMRO PAKISTAN FOREST" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Tree seed balls are seen during afforestation in Oklaj, Croatia, November 16, 2021. Picture taken November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Antonio Bronic 

A drone is seen dispersing tree seed balls during afforestation in Oklaj, Croatia, November 16, 2021. Picture taken November 16, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Antonio Bronic 

Masood Lohar, 54, a development expert who has overseen Clifton Urban Forest, previously a garbage dumping site, checks the soil in Karachi, Pakistan May 26, 2021. Lohar said afforestation could help make Karachi more resilient against natural disasters and encourage wildlife to settle. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro SEARCH "SOOMRO PAKISTAN FOREST" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

A tree that is about to be planted is seen during a reforestation project in Nova Mutum, Brazil, February 19, 2020. Picture taken February 19, 2020. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini 

Brazil nuts in their shells are seen at a seed nursery for a reforestation project in Itapua do Oeste, Brazil, February 18, 2020. Picture taken on February 18, 2020. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini 

A worker plants seedlings for reforestation at Huayquecha Biological Station near Paucartambo, Cusco December 5, 2014. Locals farming in areas of the Peruvian rainforest commonly burn fields to improve soil quality, which create carbon dioxide emissions that may harm the environment. The seedlings will mature into trees, as part of environmentally-friendly reforestation programmes promoted by the Amazon Conservation Association (Asociacion para la Conservacion de la Cuenca Amazonica, ACCA). A two-week long U.N. Climate summit is taking place in Lima from December 1. Picture taken December 5. REUTERS/Enrique Castro-Mendivil (PERU - Tags: ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE SOCIETY) 

Spanish model Eva Gonzalez kisses a smurf costumed character before a symbolic tree planting act by Andres Iniesta (unseen) during a WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) reforestation program, which is part of the promotional event for the film "The Smurfs 2", in the Andalusian village of Juzcar, near Malaga, southern Spain, July 23, 2013. REUTERS/Jon Nazca (SPAIN - Tags: SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT SPORTS FASHION) 

Residents and students plant tree seedlings at the protected rainforest site in Pili, Camarines Sur, south of Manila, February 23, 2011. The provincial government of Camarines Sur held a simultaneous 500,000 tree-planting activity for the period of one hour on Wednesday that aims to plant 12 million trees until 2012, in the province?s 35 towns and one component city. REUTERS/Erik de Castro (PHILIPPINES - Tags: ENVIRONMENT) 

Syrian volunteers plant trees at a mountainous area near the Lebanese-Syrian border, 50 km (31 miles) northwest of Damascus, to mark International Volunteer Day, December 5, 2009. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA SOCIETY ENVIRONMENT) 

A worker trims a plant at Beishan Afforestation Site in Yanqing County on the outskirts of Beijing June 17, 2008. Beijing officials organised a media tour on Tuesday to show the development and achievement made by the Chinese government in improving the ecological situation and progress in desertification control around Beijing, a statement said. REUTERS/Claro Cortes IV (CHINA) 

A Chinese resident on a bicycle pedals past rows of replanted trees which are part of the afforestation project at the "Green Channel" along an expressway of Beijing June 17, 2008. Beijing officials organised a media tour on Tuesday to show the development and achievement made by the Chinese government in improving the ecological situation and progress in desertification control around Beijing, a statement said. REUTERS/Claro Cortes IV (CHINA) 

A woman plants pines during a reforestation process on Penteli mountain, north of Athens January 13, 2008. REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis (GREECE) 

People plant pines during a reforestation process on Penteli mountain, north of Athens January 13, 2008. REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis (GREECE) 

People plant pines during a reforestation process on Penteli mountain, north of Athens January 13, 2008. REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis (GREECE) 

Catholic nuns plant trees in a field, symbolizing a deforested area, during a program to mark the World Environment Day in Manila June 5, 2007. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco (PHILIPPINES) 

A Brazilian Air Force officer holds seeds of the Andiroba plant to be launched from a military plane over a deforested area of the Amazon River basin to bring vegetation back to the region, near the river's mouth at Belem, May 11, 2007. A group of Israeli residents in the region known as the Congresso Internacional Israelita de Sociosfera na Amazonia, backed by the Para State government and other institutions, carried out for the third straight year the re-seeding of areas of the basin to try and reverse the damage done by farming and animal breeding. REUTERS/Paulo Santos (BRAZIL) 

Artist Kevin Schmidt paints on the stump of a fallen tree in Vancouver, British Columbia's Stanley Park, May 10, 2007. The tree was one of thousands of trees blown down in the park during a winter storm late last year. The stump will be trimmed to preserve the painting and will be used to raise money to restore the park. REUTERS/Andy Clark (CANADA) 

Farmers carry buckets of water to be used for planting trees which will prevent desertification on a hill in Wanquan county, north China's Hebei province, April 6, 2007. A senior environmental protection official has urged for more supervision and participation from the public to ensure success in the country's fight against worsening pollution, China Daily reported. REUTERS/Jason Lee (CHINA) 

A Chinese student carries a sapling as soldiers prepare the ground during a massive afforestation project on the outskirts of Beijing, March 22, 2001. The authorities have been alerted to the deteriorating environment in the region as more frequent sandstorms hit the Chinese capital due to desertification in the areas surrounding Beijing. 

Chinese soldiers prepare the ground during a massive afforestation project on the outskirts of Beijing, March 22, 2001. The authorities have been alerted to the deteriorating environment in the region as more frequent sandstorms hit the Chinese capital due to desertification in the areas surrounding Beijing. 

A CHINESE STUDENT CARRIES A SAPLING AS SOLDIERS PREPARE THE GROUND DURING A MASSIVE AFFORESTATION PROJECT NEAR BEIJING.


A Chinese student carries a sapling as soldiers prepare the ground during a massive afforestation project on the outskirts of Beijing, March 22, 2001. The authorities have been alerted to the deteriorating environment in the region as more frequent sandstorms hit the Chinese capital due to desertification in the areas surrounding Beijing. 

Chinese farmers unload saplings during a massive afforestation project on the outskirts of Beijing, March 22, 2001. The authorities have been alerted to the deteriorating environment in the region as more frequent sandstorms hit the Chinese capital due to desertification in the areas surrounding Beijing.

ASW/DL 

Chinese soldiers prepare the ground during a massive afforestation project on the outskirts of Beijing, March 22, 2001. The authorities have been alerted to the deteriorating environment in the region as more frequent sandstorms hit the Chinese capital due to desertification in the areas surrounding Beijing.

ASW/DL 

Chinese soldiers prepare the ground during a massive afforestation project on the outskirts of Beijing, March 22, 2001. The authorities have been alerted to the deteriorating ecology in the region as more frequent sandstorms hit the Chinese capital due to desertification in the areas surrounding Beijing.

ASW/DL 

Elderly Chinese villagers student rest as they take part in an afforestation project at Huai Lai county in Hebei province, 70kms northwest of Beijing, April 15. The environment in Huai Lai county has been deteriorating so much that parts of fields and several small mountains have been buried as a result of desertification. Official statistics show that over the past decades, desertification in the country has been deteriorating instead of improving and more than 40 per cent of China's territory had been turned into desert. Before the 1980s, China's desertified land expanded at an average rate of 1,560 square kilometers a year. The figure rose to 2,100 square kilometers a year in the 1980s and to 2,460 square kilometers in 1994. Sandstorms that swept much of northern and eastern China in the past weeks have set off alarm of deteriorating ecology in the areas. 

A Chinese primary student rests as she takes part in an afforestation project at Huai Lai county in Hebei province, 70kms northwest of Beijing, April 15. The environment in Huai Lai county has been deteriorating so much that patches of fields and several small mountains have been buried as a result of desertification. Official statistics show that over the past decades, desertification in the country has been deteriorating instead of improving and more than 40 per cent of China's territory had been turned into desert. Before the 1980s, China's desertified land expanded at an average rate of 1,560 square kilometers a year. The figure rose to 2,100 square kilometers a year in the 1980s and to 2,460 square kilometers in 1994. Sandstorms that swept much of northern and eastern China in the past weeks have set off alarm of deteriorating ecology in the areas. 

A Chinese primary school student surveys barren fields after taking part in an afforestation project at Huai Lai county in Hebei province, 70kms northwest of Beijing, April 15. The environment in Huai Lai county has been deteriorating so much that parts of fields and several small mountains have been buried as a result of desertification. Official statistics show that over the past decades, desertification in the country has been deteriorating instead of improving and more than 40 per cent of China's territory had been turned into desert. Before the 1980s, China's desertified land expanded at an average rate of 1,560 square kilometers a year. The figure rose to 2,100 square kilometers a year in the 1980s and to 2,460 square kilometers in 1994. Sandstorms that swept much of northern and eastern China in the past weeks have set off alarm of deteriorating ecology in the areas.

ASW/PB 

Elderly Chinese villagers student rest as they take part in an afforestation project at Huai Lai county in Hebei province, 70kms northwest of Beijing, April 15. The environment in Huai Lai county has been deteriorating so much that parts of fields and several small mountains have been buried as a result of desertification. Official statistics show that over the past decades, desertification in the country has been deteriorating instead of improving and more than 40 per cent of China's territory had been turned into desert. Before the 1980s, China's desertified land expanded at an average rate of 1,560 square kilometers a year. The figure rose to 2,100 square kilometers a year in the 1980s and to 2,460 square kilometers in 1994. Sandstorms that swept much of northern and eastern China in the past weeks have set off alarm of deteriorating ecology in the areas.

ASW/PB 

A Chinese primary student rests as she takes part in an afforestation project at Huai Lai county in Hebei province, 70km northwest of Beijing, April 15. The environment in Huai Lai county has been deteriorating so much that patches of fields and several small mountains have been buried as a result of desertification. Official statistics show that over the past decades, desertification in the country has been deteriorating instead of improving and more than 40 per cent of China's territory had been turned into desert. Before the 1980s, China's desertified land expanded at an average rate of 1,560 square kilometers a year. The figure rose to 2,100 square kilometers a year in the 1980s and to 2,460 square kilometers in 1994. Sandstorms that swept much of northern and eastern China in the past weeks have set off alarms of deteriorating ecology in the areas.

ASW/PB 

An elderly Chinese villager plants a tree as primary students transport water during an afforestation project at Huai Lai county in Hebei province, 70kms northwest of Beijing, April 15. The environment in Huai Lai county has been deteriorating so much that patches of fields and several small mountains had been buried as a result of desertification. Official statistics show that over the past decades, desertification in the country has been deteriorating instead of improving and more than 40 per cent of China's territory had been turned into desert. Before the 1980s, China's desertified land expanded at an average rate of 1,560 square kilometers a year. The figure rose to 2,100 square kilometers a year in the 1980s and to 2,460 square kilometers in 1994. Sandstorms that swept much of northern and eastern China in the past weeks have set off alarm of deteriorating ecology in the areas.

ASW/PB 

Chinese primary students carry water uphill as they take part in an afforestation project at Huai Lai county in Hebei province, 70kms northwest of Beijing, April 15. The environment in Huai Lai county has been deteriorating so much that patches of fields and several small mountains have been buried as a result of desertification. Official statistics show that over the past decades, desertification in the country has been deteriorating instead of improving and more than 40 per cent of China's territory has been turned into desert. Before the 1980s, China's desertified land expanded at an average rate of 1,560 square kilometers a year. The figure rose to 2,100 square kilometers a year in the 1980s and to 2,460 square kilometers in 1994. Sandstorms that swept much of northern and eastern China in the past weeks have set off alarms of deteriorating ecology in the areas.

ASW/PB