Pollution Devours Pakistan's Great Lake

The once-vibrant Lake Manchar in Pakistan's Sindh province is succumbing to a severe ecological collapse, primarily driven by pollution from the Right Bank Outfall Drain. This canal carries agricultural wastewater, pesticides, industrial effluent, and sewage, drastically increasing the lake's salinity and depleting oxygen.

This environmental degradation has devastated the Mohana community, a people who have lived on the lake for generations. Their traditional livelihood, dependent on abundant fish stocks, has crumbled as catches have plummeted from thousands of tonnes to less than one hundred annually. Many Mohana have been forced to abandon their floating homes for life on the shore.

Compounding the crisis, climate change and reduced freshwater inflow have further stressed the ecosystem. Lake Manchar, a crucial stopover for migratory birds, has seen its avian populations halved in just two years. The vanishing birds and fish mirror the decline of the Mohana, whose very existence is intricately tied to the dying lake.