Tahir Qureshi

Muhammad Tahir Tahir Qureshi
Born	1946
Died	29 Dec 2020[1]
Nationality	Pakistani
Occupation(s)	Divisional Forest Officer, Sindh Pakistan
Employer(s)	Ministry of Climate Change (Pakistan) Government of Pakistan employee as a forester
Known for	Environmentalist and a conservationist

Tahir Qureshi Mangrove Man or Mangroves Hero of Pakistan (1946-2020 Urdu بابائے مینگروز پاکستان ) ^[2] was a senior Pakistani environmentalist and coastal ecosystem expert at the IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature who dedicated his whole life to the preservation and expansion of Mangrove trees in Pakistan Indus River Delta-Arabian Sea mangroves and other coastal areas. Tahir Qureshi had played a key role in rehabilitation of more than 30,000 hectares of mangrove forests in Sindh and Baluchistan.^[3] International Union for Conservation of Nature awarded him title Hero of mangroves.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9]}

Environmental role

Tahir Qureshi rehabilitated more than 30,000 hectares of mangrove forests in Sindh and Baluchistan.^[10] International Union for Conservation of Nature awarded him title Hero of mangroves.^[11] Due to his continuous efforts on 22 June 2013, Sindh Forest Department, Govt. of Sindh, Pakistan, Tahir Qureshi with the help of 300 local coastal volunteer planters set the Guinness World Record by planting 541,176 mangrove saplings at Kharo Chan, Thatta, Sindh, Pakistan in a little over 12 hours. This is the highest number of saplings planted within a day under the Guinness World Record category of "Maximum Number of Trees Planted in a Day".^[12]

Personal life

Tahir Qureshi's family migrated from British India into Shikarpur Sindh Pakistan. He shifted to Hyderabad city and got a Master's degree in Zoology, being appointed a lecturer. Then from Peshawar Forest academy he got a degree in Forestry, and after CSS started working as Districts forest officer. He died on 29 December 2020 in Karachi Pakistan at the age of 74.^[13]

See also

• Indus River Delta-Arabian Sea mangroves
• Arif Minhas
• Jadav Payeng
• Dr Tahir Shamsi

References

1. "Environmentalist's demise condoled".
2. "'Father of Mangroves' fights for Pakistan's forests". 10 November 2011.
3. "KARACHI: Importance of mangrove forests highlighted". DAWN.COM. 7 October 2001. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
4. Hub, IISD's SDG Knowledge. "IUCN April Newsletter Highlights Heroes of Conservation | News | SDG Knowledge Hub | IISD". Retrieved 30 December 2020.
5. @tribunelabs (29 December 2017). "Tahir Qureshi has rehabilitated over 30,000 hectares of mangrove forests in Sindh and Balochistan. He considers pol…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
6. "IUCN Pakistan celebrates the World Wetlands Day, calls for Greater focus on Coastal Communities". IUCN. 4 February 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
7. "1mile² Karachi". Visiting Arts. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
8. "Losing Sanctuary". Atavist. 25 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
9. Foundation, Thomson Reuters. "Pakistan's mangrove restoration efforts called into question". news.trust.org. Retrieved 30 December 2020. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
10. "KARACHI: Importance of mangrove forests highlighted". DAWN.COM. 7 October 2001. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
11. "IUCN April Newsletter Highlights Heroes of Conservation | News | SDG Knowledge Hub | IISD".
12. "Guinness World Record certifies Pakistan now holds the record for most trees planted in a 24 hr. period". IUCN. 18 July 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
13. "پاکستان کے 'بابائے مینگرووز' کون تھے؟". BBC News اردو (in Urdu). Retrieved 30 December 2020.