Many residents fear that the view will be steadily eroded, with concrete replacing green areas
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan’s capital Islamabad was once known for its lush green space, but the felling of trees across the city for infrastructure has sparked local anger and even lawsuits.
Built in the 1960s, Islamabad was planned as a green city with wide avenues, parks and tree-lined sectors.
Many residents fear that the view will be steadily eroded, with concrete replacing green areas.
Muhammad Naveed took authorities to court this year over “large-scale felling of trees” for infrastructure projects, accusing them of felling “many mature trees” and leaving land “barren”.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) blamed major infrastructure development, including road building and monuments, for the mass erosion of trees and natural vegetation in Islamabad.
Between 2001 and 2024, the capital lost 14 hectares of tree cover, equivalent to 20 football fields, according to Global Forest Watch, although the figure does not take into account tree cover gains over the same period.
For Kamran Abbasi, a local trader and resident since the 1980s, it feels like “they are cutting down trees everywhere”. “It’s not the same anymore,” he told AFP.
“Trees are life. Thousands are cut to build one bridge.”
Meanwhile, air quality in Islamabad continues to deteriorate.
Pollution is a long-standing problem, but plants can help by filtering dirty air, absorbing harmful gases and cooling cities.
“Forests act as powerful natural filters… purifying the air and water and reducing the overall impact of pollution,” Muhammad Ibrahim, director of WWF-Pakistan’s forest program, told AFP.
There were no good air quality days in Islamabad last month, with all but two classified as “unhealthy” or “very unhealthy” by monitoring organization IQAir.
