Every year on February 2, the world pauses – if only briefly – to acknowledge the quiet power of the wetlands in sustaining life on Earth. Marked as World Wetlands Day, the occasion commemorates the signing of the Ramsar Convention in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran, an international treaty meant to protect wetlands as important ecosystems vital to both nature and humanity.
Yet in Pakistan, many wetlands are struggling to survive. Among them is Haleji Lake in Sindh, a Ramsar-listed wetland, which is slipping into distress – slowly, silently, and largely unnoticed. Its decline reflects a larger environmental failure – one of neglect, mismanagement, and broken ecological promises.
World Wetlands Day and Haleji Lake 2026: A Sanctuary Born of History | From Wartime Utility to Biodiversity Haven
Located about 88 kilometres from Karachi, Haleji Lake is a man-made wetland, created during World War II between 1940 and 1943 by the British to supply freshwater to troops stationed in Karachi. Originally a saltwater depression, the lake was converted into a freshwater reservoir through a feeder canal from the Indus River. That intervention changed everything. What followed was unexpected yet extraordinary. Freshwater transformed Haleji into a thriving wetland ecosystem, attracting migratory birds from Siberia and Central Asia.
Recognising its ecological importance, the lake was designated a Ramsar site in 1971, the same year the international Convention on Wetlands was signed in Ramsar, Iran. A year later, it was declared a protected wildlife sanctuary in 1972 by the Sindh Wildlife Department.
Today, Haleji remains one of Pakistan’s most significant wetlands, part of a fragile network of 19 Ramsar wetlands across the country – especially within Sindh – nine of them in Sindh alone, which hosts nearly half of the country’s Ramsar sites.
A Wetland Starved of Water: A Lake That Is Slowly Disappearing
Despite the dense greenery surrounding Haleji Lake – eucalyptus, neem, peepal, coconut trees, and wild vegetation – the lake itself is in shrinking. For the past eight years, Haleji has received no freshwater inflow from the Indus River. Water that once sustained the lake is now diverted to urban supply schemes such as K-IV, long before it reaches this sanctuary, cutting Haleji off from its lifeline. With no inflow and no natural outflow, the lake has become stagnant, its water levels steadily declining. This artificial drying is not seasonal – it is systemic, and the consequences are profound.
Vanishing Biodiversity
As water levels drop, so does aquatic life as well as biodiversity – the foundation of the lake’s food chain. When birds abandon a wetland, it is rarely a coincidence. It is a warning. Wetlands speak through their wildlife. When bird populations decline, ecosystems are already in trouble.
Haleji Lake has long been a refuge for species such as Northern Pintail, Mallards, pelicans, white-tailed lapwings, Egyptian vultures, pheasant-tailed jacanas, and various waders. As water levels fall, aquatic vegetation and fish decline, reducing food availability for migratory birds.
The birds are vanishing being increasingly under threat. Annual bird censuses now indicate a gradual decrease in numbers, a worrying trend for biodiversity that suggests Haleji may no longer be a reliable stopover along ancient migratory routes.
Why World Wetlands Day Truly Matters: Importance of Wetlands in Sustaining Life on Earth
On World Wetlands Day, the rapid disappearance of wetlands demands urgent global attention. These life-supporting ecosystems are vanishing three times faster than forests, pushed toward collapse by climate change, dam construction, unchecked urban expansion, pollution, and unsustainable agricultural practices. Scientists warn that if the current trends continue, nearly 20 per cent of the world’s remaining wetlands could disappear by 2050. Pakistan’s Haleji Lake offers a stark, living example of this crisis – where ecological neglect is transforming a once-thriving wetland into a fragile shadow of its past.
The decline of Haleji Lake highlights why wetlands matter far more than we often admit. Ecologists describe wetlands as nature’s silent guardians. They act as nature’s kidneys, filtering pollutants and purifying water before it reaches rivers, lakes, and groundwater reserves.
They play a crucial role in recharging aquifers, reducing flood risks by absorbing excess rainfall, and stabilizing local climates through moisture regulation. In regions vulnerable to extreme weather, wetlands serve as natural buffers, protecting the communities from floods and droughts.
Economic Value of Wetlands in Sustaining Life on Earth: Livelihood support through fisheries and eco-tourism
Beyond their ecological functions, wetlands are vital economic lifelines. They sustain fisheries, support agriculture through nutrient-rich soils, and provide livelihoods for millions through fishing, farming, and eco-tourism. Globally, wetlands cover only about nine per cent of the Earth’s surface, yet they generate ecosystem services valued at more than $3.4 billion annually. Despite this immense contribution, they remain among the most neglected and undervalued ecosystems on the planet.
The continued degradation of wetlands reflects a dangerous disconnect between short-term development goals and long-term ecological security. As Haleji Lake’s decline shows, losing wetlands is not just an environmental issue – it is a social, economic, and climatic crisis unfolding quietly, until the damage becomes impossible to ignore.
Listening to the Quiet Distress of Haleji Lake: Haleji Lake is not an exception – it is a case study.
Pakistan is a signatory to the Ramsar Convention, an international agreement built around the principle of “wise use” – a delicate balance between conserving wetlands and meeting human needs. On the paper, this commitment places wetlands like Haleji Lake among the nation’s ecological priorities. On ground, the situation is different, however. The story unfolding at Haleji exposes a troubling gap between policy and practice, where global promises fade into local neglect.
When freshwater inflows are blocked or diverted, wetlands begin to lose their lifeblood. Natural water cycles are disrupted, seasonal fluctuations turn into irreversible decline, and what was once a living ecosystem slowly slips toward ecological silence. Dams and upstream diversions choke wetlands downstream, cutting them off from the very resources that sustain them. In such conditions, protected areas remain “protected” in name alone – lines on maps rather than living landscapes.
World Wetlands Day compels us to confront an uncomfortable but necessary question: what does protection truly mean if ecosystems are denied the water they need to survive? Without guaranteed freshwater flows, conservation status becomes symbolic, and international commitments risk becoming ceremonial gestures rather than meaningful safeguards for nature.
Coexisting With Wetlands, Not Consuming Them: A Quiet Choice That Still Remains
Haleji Lake is still alive – but just barely. Its survival depends on restoring freshwater flows, strengthening wetland governance, involving local communities, and promoting responsible eco-tourism that supports conservation rather than exploitation. These are not grand demands, but necessary acts of care. Wetlands do not ask for control. They ask for balance. World Wetlands Day and the fading vitality of Haleji Lake remind us that nature rarely collapses overnight. It withdraws slowly, almost politely, until birdsong turns to silence and responsibility turns into remembrance.
Saving wetlands is not about preserving scenery alone. In view of the role of wetlands in sustaining life on earth, it is about protecting life-support systems that regulate water, climate, and biodiversity – systems human societies quietly depend on. Haleji Lake still holds life within it. Whether it continues to do so depends on a choice we can still make: to listen before the quiet becomes permanent.
