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Tahir Qureshi had many nicknames. Father of the Mangroves. Mangrove Man. The mangrove hero of Pakistan. All reflect a life dedicated to the conservation and restoration of Pakistan’s mangroves.

As Pakistan prepares to host World Environment Day on June 5, ecosystem restoration, which includes critical ecosystems like mangrove forests, will be the focus. Mr Quershi, who sadly passed away in December 2020,  played a key role in the development of mangrove restoration in Pakistan and will be fondly remembered at the event.

“He was a magnificent man. He understood the importance of mangroves in environmental conservation, he dedicated his life to them” said Mahmood Akhtar Cheema, the country representative of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) partner,  “He literally planted millions of mangroves.”

Mangroves are also a central part of the Pakistan government’s ambitious ‘Ten Billion Tree Tsunami’ drive. Led by Prime Minister Imran Khan and supported by UNEP, Pakistan has committed to planting 10 billion trees by 2023. Millions, if not billions, of these trees will be mangroves. By the end of June this year one billion trees will have already been planted.