LIVING ON THE EDGE

By cutting up blue water canisters and drums to make boats and swimming in shallow waters, these little hands not only pursue their passion for catching fish, mud crabs and shrimp but also shoulder the responsibility of supporting their families.

Whether it is six-year-old Amjad, eleven-year-old Danish, or fifteen-year-old Shakir, all of them work hard, standing in dark, muddy waters and wading through thick mud. They spread and cast nets or cut pieces of wood, tie ropes to their ends and use them as hooks. Every child in Keti Bandar is skilled in these techniques.

They earn around three hundred rupees a day by searching for marine life hidden among the tangled roots of mangroves along the shore. All of these children have dropped out of school.

Local schoolteacher and social worker Shakeel Memon is deeply disappointed by this situation. According to him, the number of girls attending schools in Keti Bandar is satisfactory but many boys are unable to complete their education.

In a developing country like Pakistan, where more than 26.2 per cent of children are out of school, these young fishermen of Keti Bandar also find it more important to leave school because of poverty and earn two hundred and fifty to three hundred rupees a day instead.

The port of Keti Bandar is one of the ancient ports of Sindh. It is said that the city of Delhi was destroyed and rebuilt seven times; similarly, Keti Bandar was also destroyed three times. Trade caravans to Persia, Sonmiani and Makran used to depart from this port, which was known as Shah Bandar.

In the early days of British rule, the port developed considerably and the East India Company also shipped goods from here. Considering the importance of this port, the British government established a customs office, navigation and monitoring systems and a basic system of port taxation in Keti Bandar.

The success of the canal system in Pakistan ultimately proved to be a harbinger of the destruction of the delta. Livelihoods dependent on freshwater gradually reached the brink of extinction, one after another. Natural disasters found their way into the lives of the people. Fresh water disappeared and the sea began to invade the fertile lands of Keti Bandar, as if claiming them as its own.

The lives of fishermen, who face natural disasters directly, are far from easy. Every year, they face the constant threat of going to sea, where their livelihoods depend on waters that can turn dangerous without warning.

According to Jahangir, a local fisherman, “We are sitting on a protective embankment made of mud and stone; otherwise, half of our houses would be submerged in water. Earlier, this embankment was fifteen feet high but it is now planned to be raised to twenty-five feet. When the water rises, we cannot see anything but our livelihood is impossible without the sea. Here are the signs of our trials. Environmental changes have left migration as the only option, but migration is not accepted. The sea has destroyed the port of Thatta, Keti Bandar, at least three times and the reason is the same.”

This conversation took place during a disaster mapping meeting with the local population of Keti Bandar, who are well aware of their problems. Here, we see a long list of challenges. Among them, rising sea levels are at the top of the list, followed by poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, a lack of basic medical facilities, the absence of an early warning system, the need to establish Rescue 1122 offices and a lack of awareness and skills.

How can people who are already struggling with such basic issues fight against a monster like environmental change?

Disaster mapping in local communities - measuring and digitally presenting the problems they face - has become increasingly necessary to help governments and government agencies better plan and carry out relief operations in disaster-affected areas.

By July 2026, a total of 1,360 reports had been collected from 10 villages in Keti Bandar under the project titled ‘Community-Based Disaster Mapping, Digital Inclusion and Storytelling in Affected Coastal Areas’ implemented in collaboration with Green Media Initiatives, Digital Democracy Initiative, Digital Democracy Initiative South Asia and Accountability Lab.

The data includes 1,360 survey responses and 10 community stories. It aims to document the impacts of climate-related hazards, including sea intrusion, cyclones and heatwaves on coastal communities.

In terms of the distribution of reports, Keti Bandar village is the most prominent, with 778 reports, accounting for 57 per cent of the total. This was followed by Siddiq Ronjo, with 150 reports; Meru Dablo, with 115; and Khuda Bakhsh Jat, with 94. The number of reports in the remaining villages ranged from 5 to 66. The map shows that most incidents occurred along the coastal strip and waterways near Keti Bandar town and Keti Bandar Fisheries. In terms of economic impact, more than 350 families were affected.

Keti Bandar’s coastal communities are facing a growing humanitarian crisis driven by sea intrusion, coastal erosion, climate change, declining livelihoods and limited access to basic services. Despite these challenges, local people continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience and adaptability. By diversifying their livelihoods, protecting mangroves, adapting fishing practices and supporting one another, these communities are working to cope with the changing coastal environment and build a more secure future.

The economy of this area is largely dependent on fishing. Therefore, damage to boats and fishing nets, a reduction in the number of fishing days and the impact of saltwater intrusion on agriculture are the main reasons for economic losses. Among the impacts on women and children, loss of income and an increase in household responsibilities were the most commonly observed.

Natural disasters can bring about changes in people’s habits, and sooner or later, communities adapt to these changes. In the village of Keti Bandar, most men and children can be seen walking barefoot. Whether on the beach or in the market, people are often seen going about their daily activities on foot.

According to the owner of a footwear shop in the area, the business is struggling because very few people wear slippers on a daily basis. According to local residents, because Keti Bandar is a coastal area, there is a lot of mud, which causes slippers to become damaged quickly. Unbothered by hard stones, thorns and dust, local residents can often be seen walking barefoot at a brisk pace. According to some people, “It is very difficult to walk in mud wearing slippers because the feet become heavy.” For those who earn 1,500 a day, buying slippers repeatedly is no less than a luxury. Most people wear them only on special occasions, such as ceremonies, weddings or reunions. Although fishermen around the world use plastic longboats, going barefoot is the norm here.

Now, fishing is not enough. How can diesel and petrol costs be covered without fishing? This is the complaint of every fisherman in Keti Bandar. After working hard and patiently all day long to catch fish from the sea, fishermen bring their catch to the market to sell it, only to be shocked by the low prices they are offered.

The best, large and fresh shrimp is usually available in the local market for only 250 rupees per kilogram, while in Karachi’s fish market, the same shrimp can fetch between 1,000 and 1,500 rupees per kilogram. This disparity leaves fishermen struggling to cover even the costs of diesel and petrol needed for fishing.

The decline in fish catches is an effect of environmental changes that have already taken away agriculture as a livelihood from the people of Keti Bandar, a place where red rice was once a famous cash crop.

According to tradition, there was once such an abundance of livestock here that milk was neither sold nor bought in the markets of Keti Bandar, and free milk was distributed through langars. A similar prosperity prevailed in the salt pans adjacent to Keti Bandar. The freshwater of the river and the fertile land ensured magnificent crops and an abundance of milk from livestock.

Livestock have now become a sign of poverty, while agriculture depends heavily on the availability of freshwater. As a result, almost the entire village has turned to catching mud crabs for its livelihood. About 90 per cent of the people in Keti Bandar earn their living by catching crabs.

These mud crabs are not consumed as food in Pakistan but they are in great demand in international markets. People transport fish and mud crabs to Karachi Fishery in small vehicles at their own expense. The distance from Karachi to Keti Bandar is 152 kilometres, and the quality of the crabs varies depending on the distance they have travelled. Hard-shelled and clean crabs are cleaned, processed and packed before being exported to China. However, small and soft-shelled crabs have little or no value in the market. Cold-storage facilities are not available and the process of transporting crabs to Karachi Fishery remains much the same as it was centuries ago. The crabs are kept in large plastic baskets, counted in hundreds and packed in large bags for transportation.

Resilience and Adaptation

Humans have always adapted to their environment and mud crab farming can also be considered one such effort.

Instead of wasting soft-shelled and rejected crabs, local fishermen keep them in ponds built near the sea. These ponds measure approximately 50 by 50 feet and cost between PKR 50,000 and PKR 1 lakh to construct. In these ponds, the crabs develop hard shells within 15 days and are then taken to Karachi for resale.

According to a local fisherman, an adult male crab sells for about PKR 150 in the market. Crab farming has become a lucrative source of income and the fishermen of Keti Bandar believe that when the sea catch decreases, they can earn a living by rearing crabs in these ponds.

The ponds need to be filled daily with fresh seawater, which naturally enters with the rising and falling tides. The ponds are enclosed with wire fences and nets to protect the crabs from external predators, such as dogs and crows. Fresh seawater needs to enter and leave the ponds daily, so pipes are installed below the ponds. During high tide, seawater naturally fills the ponds through these pipes. However, transporting crabs from these remote ponds to the city is a long journey, and many crabs die during transportation, resulting in significant financial losses. There is an urgent need for cold-storage facilities to preserve the crabs during transportation, reduce losses and improve the livelihoods of fishermen.

The Indus Delta’s woes are not limited to the drying up of the river. The world’s fifth-largest delta, the Indus Delta is classified as a wetland and a Ramsar site. The 2010 floods, which wreaked havoc across the country, brought some good news for the fishermen of Keti Bandar. The severe shortage of freshwater allowed seawater to intrude further inland and fertile land was swallowed by the sea. The floods played a major role in restoring the ecosystem.

For the future, it is necessary to strengthen early warning systems to protect communities from sea intrusions and storms, provide financial assistance and alternative employment opportunities to affected families and develop special programs to protect women and children.

The writer is a senior journalist who covers environmental and social issues. She can be reached at [email protected]