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f this land could speak, it would tell a story that spans centuries. Not only of struggle for sovereignty, but also of ecological memory forgotten.
As Pakistan marks its 78th year of independence, one must wonder: have we truly been liberated? Or do parts of us remain shackled by ecological injustice, fragile institutions and inherited systems that undermine our ability to protect the land and its people? This is not a rhetorical question. It is a central question of our next struggle.
From 1947 till 2021, Pakistan experienced 28 super riverine floods. These events, beginning with the catastrophic 1950 flood, and recurring almost annually since 2010, have cumulatively impacted over 616,000 square kilometres, claimed 13,262 lives and caused more than Rs 39 billion in economic losses. In 2022, the country faced yet another historic disaster, breaking records as rainfall reached nearly thrice the average in some regions, triggering floods that affected over 33 million people and inflicted an estimated $30 billion in damages, according to the World Bank.
These are not just natural disasters; they are manifestations of a global poly-crisis, where climate change, governance breakdown and ecological erosion converge in compounding ways. In our case, they reflect layered systemic failures: inherited exploitation, the abandonment of adaptive wisdom and the widening cracks of weak policy and implementation.
Layers of vulnerability
Our structural inequalities did not begin with independence. Rather they were inherited from colonial systems engineered to extract, dominate and divide. British hydrological schemes redefined entire river systems, not to nourish local ecologies but to transform land into engines of imperial revenue. Vast irrigation canals, cash crop regimes and land consolidation projects entrenched hierarchies of control, marginalising indigenous communities and severing centuries-old relationships between people and land. In effect, water management became a tool of power and surveillance, shaping not only landscapes but also political and social arrangements that have persisted. The post-independence state largely replicated these systems, absorbing them into the logic of development without fundamentally rethinking their exclusions.
In doing so, it sidelined climate-resilient systems rooted in local knowledge and ecological harmony. The karez of Balochistan, johads of the Pothohar Plateau and pastoralist water harvesting in Sindh are not mere relics; they were living technologies—adaptive, decentralised and regenerative. They recharged aquifers, buffered against floods and cultivated stewardship rather than extraction. But with the advent of concrete infrastructure and command-style management, ecosystems were fractured and communities disempowered. What we face today is not merely a technical failure. It is a rupture rooted in history and injustice.
Layers of disconnectivity
Pakistan’s climate response does not begin on level ground. We inherited a system designed for control and shaped by colonial logics that fractured ecosystems, centralised power and sidelined communities. This legacy left us with infrastructure that is both ecologically rigid and socially unjust. But layered on top of this historical fragmentation is a second, compounding challenge: a present-day climate architecture that remains disjointed across governance, data and finance.
Though mechanisms exist, systemic enforcement remains weak. In the absence of clear mandates, climate priorities frequently bypass disaster risk reduction, ecological restoration and public participation. The result is a fragmented governance landscape, where institutional silos deepen the disconnect between national ambition and local realities. What we need is not more policy, but integrated climate governance aligned across ministries and provinces, anchored in accountability, financing and enforcement.
This fragmentation extends to the data systems that are meant to inform action. Hydrological monitoring, climate forecasting and early warning mechanisms remain disjointed, limiting both preparedness and response. The absence of real-time, integrated data leaves communities without actionable information and planners without the tools to map risk or design resilient systems. As climate threats intensify, this institutional blindness becomes untenable. Coherent, interoperable data systems must underpin every aspect of climate decision-making.
Even when strategies exist and risks are known, implementation stalls at the level of finance. According to the National Water Conservation Strategy (2023-2027), Pakistan’s freshwater availability was projected to fall below 500 m³ per capita by 2025, while heatwave days in the south have tripled over the past two decades. Yet, climate finance remained elusive, especially for nature-based solutions and locally led adaptation, which are often the most cost-effective, equitable and ecologically grounded. Without mechanisms to mobilise, absorb and disburse resources effectively, even the most thoughtful interventions remain unfunded and un-realised.
Reimagining freedom through climate justice
If freedom is to mean something today, it must encompass ecological sovereignty and climate justice. True patriotism is not only symbolic, it is practical, generational and grounded in care. It means defending the right of every community, whether in the floodplains of the Punjab or the coastlines of Sindh, to live with dignity amidst a changing climate. It is the freedom to grow food without fear of drought, to rebuild homes without watching them drown again, to inherit landscapes not as ruins, but as regenerating ecosystems.
But this future cannot rest on activism alone. It demands system enablers: those who work across silos to support nature, people and policy all at once. These are the actors helping expand the space for adaptation, before we hit hard limits. In Pakistan, this means not only responding to climate shocks, but also reducing the drivers of vulnerability that make them worse, such as poor land-use planning, deforestation and water mismanagement. Across the country, WWF-Pakistan’s efforts are quietly demonstrating that these risks can be mitigated. Mangrove restoration in coastal estuaries has shown how nature can buffer tidal surges while reviving livelihoods. Recharge Pakistan is helping reconfigure floodplains into ecological assets instead of danger zones. Projects like WRAP, which aim to scale up nature-based solutions, are developing management plans for the restoration of wetlands and riparian buffers to help slow floods and recharge groundwater. These interventions matter not because they are perfect, but because they point to what is possible when institutions, communities and ecosystems are aligned.
A liberation unwritten
Independence is not a closed chapter; it’s an ongoing responsibility. Climate justice is the next frontier for freedom. If colonial legacies remain unchallenged, if governance structures stay weak, if data continues to fail those most vulnerable and if climate finance bypasses those most in need, then our liberation remains incomplete.
Pakistan must reclaim ecological justice through strong institutions, fair and transparent systems, grounded climate finance and indigenous knowledge that has long protected people and place. Let us define independence not by borders, but by building resilience, upholding equity and protecting the planet.
The land remembers. What we build today — the policies, partnerships and stewardship — will be our true legacy. Let us not leave behind a Pakistan marked by fragility and floods, but one shaped by resilience, equity and care.
The writer is the director general at WWF-Pakistan. A LEAD Fellow and a Chevening Scholar, he is a seasoned environmentalist with over 30 years of experience in nature conservation, water management and climate change adaptation. His X handle: hnaqikhan