Vultures Used to Save Human Lives - Environmental Economists Reports Huge Monetary and Human Lives Losses Due to Their Extinction

July 18, 2024

Opinion by Prof. Dr. Muhammad Mukhtar

An upcoming interesting Indian study in American Economic Reviews discloses that the decline of the vulture population led to the emergence of disease-causing pathogens emerging from carcasses, resulting in severe economic losses and human deaths. This loss in terms of monetary value exceeds $70 billion a year and the death of almost half a million individuals over the past couple of decades.

According to Prof. Dr. Muhammad Mukhtar, Vice Chancellor of the National Skills University Islamabad Pakistan, this study is an eye-opener for biologists and environment specialists worldwide, mainly for country vultures, which are facing extinction due to the use of diclofenac spray to protect crops and insects in homes. During his services at the Islamia University Bahawalpur, Mukhtar hired a scientist who co-authored a study causing the decline of vultures in Pakistan. He was specifically tasked to save the vulture population in the Cholistan Desert in Pakistan, which is near Indian borders. The impact of vulture decline in Pakistan and other Asian and African countries is yet to be evaluated.

An article published in BBC.com states, "There are 23 vulture species in the world, more than half listed on the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species as either Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered. The under-appreciated scavengers serve a vital role as nature's "clean-up crew," devouring carcasses and stopping the spread of disease, such as tuberculosis and anthrax, to other wildlife, livestock, dogs, and people." 

Vultures have long been associated with death, and for good reason. With their hunched shoulders, hooked beaks, and bald heads, they are nature's scavengers, always staying active in search of dead and decaying animals. Yet, as a new study reveals, these often maligned birds play a critical role in protecting human life.

In the 1990s, India, Pakistan, and several other countries witnessed a near-extinction of its vulture population, leading to public health crises. The absence of these birds allowed disease-carrying pathogens to spread unchecked from rotting animal carcasses, resulting in more than a half-million human deaths between 2000 and 2005, the Indian study reveals. The study will be published in the American Economic Review, and it estimates the monetary damage from this health crisis to be nearly $70 billion annually. This devastating impact on public health should be a cause for concern for all of us.

Health economists believe this study will spark significant new research. Vultures are keystone species in India, Pakistan, and several other African and Asian countries and are essential to the health of numerous ecosystems. Beyond cleaning up diseased carcasses, vultures play a crucial role in controlling populations of other scavengers, such as feral dogs that spread rabies. Without vultures, these populations can grow unchecked, leading to further disease spread. Farmers have resorted to disposing of dead livestock in waterways without vultures, further exacerbating the spread of disease.

Historically, the extinction of vultures accelerated when farmers began using the drug diclofenac in 1994 to treat livestock. While beneficial for the animals, diclofenac proved lethal to vultures, destroying their kidneys and decimating their populations from 50 million to just a few thousand in a decade. The dead animals carcass was the route for transer fo this harmful chemicals for the vultures.

The authors of this important study, Sudarshan and co-author Eyal Frank from the University of Chicago, mapped vulture habitats against health records from over 600 Indian districts. Controlling for factors like water quality and healthcare access, they found that districts with historically large vulture populations saw a 4.7% increase in human death rates by 2005, translating to approximately 104,386 additional deaths annually. In contrast, districts without significant vulture populations experienced no such rise in death rates. This rigorous methodology ensures the reliability of the findings and the validity of the conclusions drawn.

The study calculated the economic value of preventing one death in Indian society at roughly $665,000 based on previously reported data. This figure placed the total economic damages from the loss of vultures at $69.4 billion annually from 2000 to 2005. The sheer economic value of a single life in this context is staggering, highlighting the gravity of the situation.

According to Marshall Burke, an environmental economist at Stanford University, the methodology used in this study could also apply to other species. Similar research could drive broader environmental policy changes by examining species with known impacts on human health. This study on vulture decline could serve as a model for future research and policy changes, highlighting the importance of ecological impact of species decline in environmental policy decisions.

Since diclofenac usage was banned in 2006, the outlook for vulture recovery remains bleak. Protecting species like vultures, which rarely garner public attention, is crucial for maintaining ecological and human health.

The study on vulture decline mentioned above demonstrates that preserving biodiversity is an environmental and public health necessity. As we confront future challenges, let us remember the invaluable role played by the often-overlooked guardians of our ecosystems.