Salinity is a growing problem in the Southern Indus Basin of Pakistan. It has increased substantially in recent decades in large part due to irrigated agriculture, including through the excessive pumping of saline groundwater that leads to a build-up of salinity in the soil.

In most cases, salinity is largely irreversible, and learning to adapt and live with salinity may be the only viable option for farming communities to improve their livelihoods

This project seeks to providing farming communities in the Southern Indus Basin of Pakistan with knowledge to support the growing of salt tolerant trees and shrubs. The emphasis is on species and policies, programs and practices that can increase farm income and deliver complementary environmental and climate benefits. It will develop a series of knowledge products that address identified gaps hampering salinity management. These will inform policy, programs and practices for growing trees and shrubs in saline landscapes in Pakistan.

There is an emphasis on indigenous tree and shrub species (where possible) that offer alternative income streams to smallholder farmers, encompass improved species selection and silvicultural practices for successful establishment and productivity, and have the capacity to deliver additional environmental and climate resilience benefits, as well as where farmers can access these species.