In Peru’s capital city, Lima, vultures and solar power have been enlisted to help deal with illegal rubbish dumping.
Often reviled due to their looks and nature, vultures play an important part in ecosystems. Exclusively scavengers, they feed primarily on the carcasses of dead animals. Acids and gut flora in a vulture’s stomach are so strong that they can safely feed on carcasses infected with diseases such as anthrax, botulism and cholera.
In Lima, vultures are somewhat the equivalent of our seagulls; homing in on piles of rubbish and seeking out scraps. 6,000 – 8,000 tonnes of trash is generated daily in the city and there are conflicting reports of how much of that is illegally dumped – anywhere from 4 to 20 per cent. Even at the low end of the estimates, over a year that adds up to around 87,600 tonnes of trash winding up in illegal dumps in the city and surrounding areas.
These illegal dumps are not only unsightly, they can harbor disease and rodents. Runoff can contaminate local waterways.
Some of Lima’s vultures are now not only watching and waiting for these feeding opportunities, they are also reporting.
A recently established program, Gallinazo Avisa (Vultures Warn), has recruited 10 well-trained vultures and fitted them out with cameras and solar powered GPS trackers. Imagery taken by the cameras is transmitted back to Gallinazo Avisa headquarters in real-time; with illegal dumps recorded and investigated.
Unfortunately, cleaning up the dumps may not always be possible due to lack of resources in some municipalities.
Regardless, it’s a very polished operation that gets residents of Lima involved – they are able to track the vultures’ activity via the Gallinazo Avisa web site; report illegal dumping and sign up for related newsletters that also contain educational material on waste management.
It’s a win-win all round – people are switching on to better waste management practices; illegal dumpers need to think twice and through associated education, the reputation of the vulture is changing.
Gallinazo Avisa is a joint initiative between U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Peru’s Ministry of Environment.
