MY expository writing class consists of students who will choose one of four interdisciplinary majors: social development studies, politics, philosophy and economics, Asian and Middle Eastern studies, and environmental science. Gen Z has grown up in the shadow of the Covid pandemic; my students are now studying the nightmare of climate change and the ill effects it will have on Pakistan.

Recently, they read a report by Waqas Ali Ranjha in this paper on how mangrove cutting for land reclamation in the Korangi creek is putting the environment in danger. The students were horrified to hear how land grabbers have built an illegal dyke in the Korangi Mangrove Forest, next to the Korangi Biodiversity Park that opened just last year. This dyke blocks water from reaching the mangroves, which will die and be cut down by encroachers. The Sindh Forestry Department confirmed this illegal activity, but the matter is sub judice, and the police will not act.

Mayor Murtaza Wahab had asked the public for feedback about the Biodiversity Park, so I tasked my students with composing ‘letters to the editor’ — a classic exercise for university students to “compliment, critique, inform, or communicate information” on a topic they’re passionate........

© Dawn