Assessment Report_ Solid Waste at Shandur

8/7/2019 Assessment Report_ Solid Waste at Shandur

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Solid Waste Management at Shandur Polo Festival 2008 by the

Pakistan Wetlands Programme

A Report

July 2008

Written by:Farasat AliResearch InternPakistan Wetlands Programme, NAWC Regional Operations Base, Gilgit.

Supervised by:

Dr. Humaira Khan________________________ Wetlands Specialist, Pakistan Wetlands Programme, NAWC RegionalOperations Base, Gilgit.

Tajdar Hussian ________________________ Coordinator, Pakistan Wetlands Programme, NAWC Regional Operations Base,Gilgit.



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Abbreviations

PWP Pakistan Wetlands Programme.NAEPA Northern Areas Environmental Protection Agency.WWF World Wide Fund.NGOs Non Government Organizations.SLSOT Shandur Local Support Organization Teru.NAFD Northern Areas Forest Department.MCG Municipal Committee Gakuch.NWFPWD North West Frontier Province Wildlife DepartmentPers. comm. Personal Communication



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Executive Summary

Langer Shandur wetland complex comprises of three high altitude lakes andis one of the largest wetland ecosystems in the Ghizer district of the NorthernAreas. It lies at N 36º 04' and 72º31’ at an elevation of 3,353 - 3,810 m abovesea level and the famous Shandur polo festival takes place annually at thetop of Shandur pass.

This study was designed to estimate the amount and types of solid wastecollected and disposed off by the Pakistan Wetlands Programme and itspartners during the Shandur polo festival 2008. The main partners of PWPwere the NAEPA, NAFD, NWFPWD and local support organisations fromboth Ghizer and Chitral. Partners donated materials, technical help or

volunteers for the cleanup, depending on their resources.

Results show that the total bio-degradable solid waste collected by PWP andits partners was 1256.3 kg while the total non-biodegradable solid waste was2931.3 kg. This means that 30% was biodegradable and 70% was non-biodegradable. Estimated per capita solid waste generated was 0.279 kg, outof which per capita biodegradable solid waste was 0.0837 kg, and per capitanon biodegradable solid waste was 0.1953 kg. A total of 550 garbage bagswere collected and dumped into a landfill and each bag on average weighed7.5 kg.

While many organizations and shopkeepers showed cooperation with PWPothers were indifferent towards the concept of a Clean Shandur. Greaterdegree of awareness raising should be carried next year out to bring suchpeople on-board.

In future the local governments of district Ghizer and Chitral should also bepartners of PWP in waste management because they are the main playersand organizers of the festival activities. Prior arrangement with eventorganizers for banner displays and Awareness Walks should be made foreasier execution. Moreover, greater effort should be made to separate thewaste and recycle material as much as possible. Arrangements with recycling

companies in down-country could be made to sell the material to them, or itcould be sold to more traditional waste re-cyclers. Biodegradable materialcould be buried in the ground.

The volunteers’ numbers should be increased from 30 this year to at least 40-45 next year to conduct a more effective clean-up drive Volunteers should beprovided with sticks with hooks to pick up garbage instead of picking withhands



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Table of Contents

Title Page No

Executive Summary................................................................................................Chapter-1 The Langer-Shandur Valley 05 Chapter 2 Background of the Study 07Chapter 3 Solid Waste Management and the Role of PWP 09Chapter 4 Results and Discuss 14

Annex - 1 Questionnaire 19Annex - 2 Pictures 22



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Chapter-1

The Langer-Shandur Valley

Introduction:

The Shandur plateau stretches 10 km down eastward to form the Langer valley.This area is basically pasture land for Teru, Barsat, Gulakhtori and othersadjacent valleys of Ghizer and Chitral districts. Langer valley has extensive peatbogs and perennial streams which originate from Khukush Lake and Shandurpass. All the lakes and peat bogs have been created by permanent streams. Thevalley remains entirely covered with snow during the winter season.

Title Size(ha) Elevation(m)Langer lake 81 3780Langer peat lands 500 3352Shandur lake-1 184.11 3749Shandur lake-2 7.62 _ Shandur peat lands 80 _ Total area 853 _

Fish species:Langer-Shandur valley is famous as trout breeding grounds in the NorthernAreas. The brown trout was introduced here in 1930, which now dominates mostof the water bodies across the valley. Among local species Gahi chemo(Schizothorax plagiostomus) and kanozobo (Triplophysa scoliczki) are found.In1993, Northern Areas Fisheries Department also introduced carp in ShandurLake, of which the result are not yet clear.

During the polo festival approximately 15,000 people gather at Shandur to seethe culture of Northern Areas and Chitral. During this time almost 20% of thevisitors use fisheries as food for four days (pers. comm. Local GovernmentChitral). The fishing methods are commonly explosive; generator electricity, rod,and netting. The camping sites are near the wetland complex and solid wastegenerated by them is a big threat to wetlands and its biota.

Important fauna:This includes snow leopard (Uncia uncia), wolf (Canis lupus), Himalayan ibex(Capra ibex sibirica) cape hare (Lepus capensis) and golden marmot (Marmotecaudata caudate). The snow leopard is endangered.



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Avifauna:Includes Himalayan snow cock (Tetraogallus himalyensis), snow partridge(Lerwa lerwa), brown dipper (Cinclus pallasii), and white wagtail (Motacilla Alba).

Vegetation:The area is situated in sub alpine and alpine zones of Pakistan. Langer-Shandurwetland complex represents an example of near to a natural wetland found withinthis region. The surrounding and upstream catchments of the lake contain anumber of the representative flora of high altitude wetlands. Some of the plantspecies are:

Birch, willow, pencil cedar, juniper, wild rose, mullein, trifolium, dandelion, wildthyme, wild strawberry, curled sock, ephedra, Artemisia spp, cumin, wild onionand alfalfa.

Migratory water birds:Include northern pintail, common teal, shoveler, and grey heron, which visit thearea in spring and autumn seasons.

Tourism:The area is an excellent tourist resort during the Shandur polo festival.Thousands of local, national and international tourists visit and stay in the areafor 4-5 days. Apart from this, large numbers of tourists cross the Shandur pass toenter Chitral valley from Gilgit and vice versa.

Water:Wetlands provide perennial flow of water to nearby villages, especial for drinkingand irrigation purposes.

Pastures:Some of the pastures of the area are in good condition while others are over-grazed. Almost 200 hectares potential pastures are found where 4,000-6,000livestock graze annually during the summer months.



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Objectives of the study:

1. Identify the type, composition and sources of solid waste generated during thefestival.

2. Estimate the amount of total solid waste in each dustbins per day.

3. Identify and estimate the total solid waste generated during the festival.

4. Recommend improvements for future solid waste management strategy at theShandur polo festival

Research Methods:

♦ Review of LiteratureThis was conducted to get vital information about solid waste collectionand ways of solid waste disposal. Developed countries approach was alsoconsidered.

♦ Questionnaire surveyQuestionnaires survey was carried out at the site to gather primary datafrom the local community and tourists. One questionnaire was used.

♦ Personal meetingMeetings were held with different experts of solid waste to get properinformation about the nature and threats of solid waste. Meeting with NA-EPA and WWF-P Gilgit were very useful.

♦ Personal observationsPersonal observations were also very helpful in assessing theeffectiveness of the solid waste management strategy at the Shandur polofestival.

Obstacles:

The problems faced during the study were:

1. Weak cooperation from the Northern Areas Administration, Chitral Scouts andlocal people

2. Difficulty in acquiring proper equipment for the study

3. Lack of data from previous years on solid waste from MCG and other sources



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Chapter- 3

Solid Waste Management and the Role of Pakistan Wetlands Programme.

Introduction to PWP:The Pakistan Wetland Programme (PWP) is a seven year long, Ministry ofEnvironment’s programme based in Islamabad and implemented by WWFPakistan. The programme’s aim is to promote the conservation of Pakistan’sfreshwater and coastal wetlands and their associated biodiversity by means oftwo distinct sub-set of intervention:

Programme components:

1. Creation of a national enabling environment

Strengthening of appropriate institutions for sustainable management andconservation of wetlands;

• Development and implementation of a comprehensive, inter-sectoral,national wetlands conservation strategy;

• Comprehensive investigation of the extended and condition of Pakistan’snaturally occurring wetlands:

• Enhancement of planning and management capacity for wetlandsconservation by the introduction of decision-making tools such asgeographic information systems;

• Enhancement of technical capacity to conserve wetlands within keygovernment agencies and communities;

• Improvement of public awareness and support for wetlands conservation;and development of effective financial sustainability mechanisms forwetlands conservation.

2. Implementation of Participatory Wetlands Management in FourDemonstration Sites

• Makran coastal wetlands complex.

• Central Indus wetlands complex.

• Salt range wetlands complex.

•

Northern Alpine wetlands complex.

Rationale for PWP Intervention at Shandur:The solid waste threats to Langer-Shandur wetlands complex are increasingbecause of the polo festival and ill managed tourism which are in turn causingsoil and water pollution. The Northern Areas Fisheries Department and NorthernAreas Forest Department say that the Shandur area is being degraded at a rapidrate which is threatening the water and soil, the scenic beauty and the regionalbiodiversity (pers. comm .). All these threats are due to solid waste and overgrazing during summer season. They also say that the polo festival is the biggest



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threat to wetlands ecosystem because of its very high rate of solid wastegeneration within 3-4 days.

In spite of the enormous waste generated during the festival, the organisers ofthe event do not have any planning for clean-up or waste removal after the event.Some local communities do limited clean-up according to their resources but it isinadequate, given the scale of the problem.

Therefore it is important to have an organized clean-up activity each year on abig scale in which the NWFP and Northern Areas governments, various NGOsand local communities should participate. This is the only way to keep Shandurfrom deteriorating further.

Waste Management Strategy:

PWP and its partners adopted the following strategy to control and mitigatewaste at the Shandur polo festival site:

1. Awareness raising among people, especially shopkeepers about keepingthe environment clean: this was done by distributing hundreds of Urdulanguage brochure about the importance of Shandur Lake and saving itfrom disaster by not spreading solid waste in it or its vicinity. It alsoestablished eco-check posts just below the Shandur pass in both Chitraland Ghizer districts where brochures were distributed to incoming visitorsin vehicles.

2. Physical collection and disposal of solid waste from strategic points atthe Shandur site. For this purpose 30 drums lined with garbage bags wereinstalled in the bazaar and selected camp sites and the nearestshopkeeper or camp site manager was made responsible for its security.PWP volunteers and staff verbally requested all these people to use thedrums for waste disposal instead of throwing it indiscriminately.

Many people were also given canvas bags to collect their waste into andeither take it with them or deposit them into the waste drums.

For disposal of the collected bags, a landfill was constructed about 2 km

down from the Shandur pass in the Ghizer district. All the collected bagswere dumped into the landfill and it was covered over properly with dirt.

Role of Partners in Waste Management Strategy:PWP took the lead role in implementing the waste management and awarenessraising strategy at the Shandur polo festival. However it had many partnerswithout whose help it could not have achieved the degree of success that it did inits implementation.



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The biggest partner was the Northern Areas Environmental Protection Agency(NAEPA) followed by the Northern Areas Forest Department, NWFP WildlifeDepartment, Shandur LSO Teru, Shandur Welfare Society and CAMAT.

The role of various partners were as follows:

PWPFinancing the construction of the landfillProviding bags for trash collection toshopkeepers and general publicFinancing the food and accommodation ofall volunteers and partnersProviding transport to the volunteersPrinting brochures

Providing jackets and T-shirts to allparticipants PWP and its partners ©Doug Kuzmiak

NAEPAProviding 30 drums for garbage disposal installed at suitable sites at ShandurProviding bags to line the drumsProviding technical input into landfill site selectionSharing the cost of running environmental announcements on Radio Pakistan,Gilgit

WWF Pakistan

Contributed banners and human resources

SLSO Teru, CAMAT and Shandur Welfare SocietyContributed 30 dedicated volunteers for solid waste collection and disposal andfor awareness rising.

NAs Forest Department and NWFP Wildlife DepartmentContributed guards for manning two eco-check posts on Ghizer and Chitral sides

Municipal Committee Gahkuch, Ghizer districtContributed a tractor for hauling bags from the site to the landfill.

.



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PWP and its Partner Organizations at Shandur

Proceedings of the Activities:

July, 4-2008.Travel to Shandur; intimating partners on the way about our arrival; setting up ofcamp site at Shandur.

July, 5&6-2008 © Doug Kuzmiak Briefing for volunteers about PWP strategyand plan of action. Public announcementsduring the pre-final polo matches aboutenvironmental problems and importance of

saving Shandur lake. Display of banners atvarious spots around Shandur. Meetings heldwith different organizations and securityforces. Distributions of solid waste collectionbags among the shop keepers, tourists andlocal people. Installation of drums in suitable Morning briefing for volunteers locations for waste collection.

July,7-2008. © Doug Kuzmiak Beginning of landfill construction;volunteers start w ork on collecting solid

waste from sites and circulate amongvisitors to raise their awareness aboutsolid waste problems.

PWP delivers a verbal presentation aboutwetlands and impact of solid waste onwetlands in front of 50-60 Northern AreasScouts members at their camp.

Brochures distributed in the bazaar area and PWP awareness raising at Northern

at the two eco-check posts. Areas Scouts camp

PWP

NA-EPA

NAs Forest De artment

NWFP Wildlife De atment NWFP

WWF-Pakistan



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July,8-2008.Distribution of T-shirts, brochures, and morecollection of waste; meetings with differentofficials to inform them about PWPparticipation. Disposal of the first load of bagsinto the landfill.

July,9-10-2008.Awareness Walk by PWP and partners onthe polo ground before the start of the finalpolo match.

Volunteers picking garbage

Final collection of garbage bags from the drums and from shopkeepers and

camp sites, cleanup of solid waste from the bazaar area and final disposal ofbags into the landfill. Closing of the landfill.

© Doug Kuzmiak

© Doug Kuzmiak

PWP Awareness March before final polo match



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Chapter – 4Results and Discussion

Visitor numbers:An estimated 15,000 visitors came to Shandur polo festival over a period of threedays (Chitral administration, NAs Tour Operators Association).

PWP Volunteers:There were about 30 volunteers from local communities both from Ghizer andChitral districts. They were all given bright yellow jackets to wear foridentification plus “Save Shandur” T-shirts. They were also given gloves tohandle waste in a safe manner.

Types of Solid Waste Generated during the Polo Festival:Polythene bags, Glass, Plastic bottles, Milk pack boxes, Fruit juice packs, Colddrink bottle caps, Glass bottles, Medicines, Syringes, Paper, Blades, Woodpieces, Poultry waste, Old shoes, Clothes, Vegetables, Fruit.

Equipments and Machinery Available for Waste Management: Details of equipments/machinery available during waste management are:

Equipment/Machinery. Total No. In-order Out of Order

Tractor Trolleys 1 1 00Garbage drums (installed) 30 30 30

Bags 1,000(distributed)

550 (re-collected fordumping)

450 (taken bypeople for otherpurposes)

Vehicles 4 4 00

Collection methods:The waste was picked up from the ground daily with the help of hands protectedby gloves, and put into bags. The maximum collection capacity was 1 tonne/day.

Waste transportation: There was one open body tractor and four PWP vehicles which were used tocollect and to dispose off the waste from different sites into the landfill.

Landfill:PWP, along with technical input from NA-EPA, selected the site and constructeda landfill for disposing off the waste, about 2 km from Shandur top in Langervalley. Over a period of three days, a total of 550 bags were disposed off into thislandfill.



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TABLE 1. Solid Waste Collection At Shandur

TABLE 2. Solid Waste Figures

Parameters. AmountTotal bio-degradable solid waste. 1256.3 kg.Total non-biodegradable solid waste. 2931.3 kg.Percentage of bio-degradable waste. 30 %Percentage of non-biodegradable waste 70 %Average /capita solid waste. 0.279 kg.Average /capita bio-degradable solidwaste.

0.0837 kg.

Average /capita non bio-degradablesolid waste

0.1953 kg.

Total bags distributed 1,000Total bags collected 550Average weight / bag 7.5 kg.Total solid waste collected. 4.187 tonnes.

Note: estimated visitor influx = 15,000

Parameters Total solid waste kg/day

Date 7 July, 2008.Bio-degradable solid waste 209Non bio-degradable solidwaste

488

Total solid waste. 697Date 8 July, 2008.Bio-degradable solid waste 418.8Non bio-degradable solidwaste

976.6

Total solid waste. 1395.4Date 9 July, 2008.Bio-degradable solid waste 354Non bio-degradable solidwaste

796

Total solid waste. 1150Date 10 July, 2008.Bio-degradable solid waste 282.6Non bio-degradable solidwaste

659.4

Total solid waste. 942

Total solid waste 4187.5 Kg OR 4.187 tonnes



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Strength of the PWP Solid Waste Management Strategy:Solid waste was the major target of PWP and NAEPA and their achievement inits collection and disposal were quite impressive, given that over 4 tonnes ofwaste was collected in just under four days.

The circulation of PWP volunteers in their bright yellow jackets among the visitorsand awareness raising activities such as person to person communication,lectures at the Northern Areas Scouts camp, Awareness March at the final matchand interviews to media outlets by PWP staff created awareness among thepeople about the importance of protecting the Langer-Shandur wetlands

complex.

Problems with the Management of Solid Waste during the Festival: The following problems and issues were faced by PWP and its partners

♦ Indifference of shopkeepers & administrationMany shopkeepers and other peoples did not cooperate with the PWPvolunteers because they used the bags for their own purposes The Chitraland Gilgit administrations allowed display of banners in the festival only aftermuch persuasion.

♦ Spatial Disparities and Inadequate Resources The equipments and machinery were not available for proper solid wastemanagement and some of the volunteers were not experienced; howevertheir efforts were highly appreciable on the whole. Compared to the scale ofthe solid waste problem their numbers were also insufficient. Hence collectionremained inadequate. Much waste remained uncollected in the bazaar area.Additionally, it was difficult for the vehicles to enter some narrow lanes in thebazaar to collect the bags.

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

SOLID WASTE IN

KG

7july ,2008 9july ,2008

COLLECTION DATES

SOLID WASTE COLLECTION

7july,2008

8july,2008

9july,2008

10july,2008



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♦ Risky Work Environment The PWP workers faced risks dealing with waste in the absence ofprecautionary measures. For example, workers did not have standardequipment for solid waste collection such as sticks with hooks, eye-glasses,proper shoes, masks etc.♦ Waste Mixing Medical waste was mixed with the municipal solid waste and its recovery wasdone in a risky way. The mixing of some of the hazardous wastes such aschemical waste and infectious solid waste from medical camps was anotherserious issue, and this waste was very difficult for volunteers to sort becauseof its hazardous nature.

Threats of Solid Waste Generated at Shandur:

Solid waste threats to livestockLocal people said that their livestock are harmed or even die from eatingploythene bags and other waste generated during the festival.

Burning of solid wasteThe burning of solid waste at Shandur affects the atmosphere because it givesoff COX, NOX, SOX, PM (particulate matter), methane and other noxious gases tothe atmosphere. This adds to the greenhouse effect and contributes to climatechange, in addition to phenomena like smog and acid rain.

Surface and ground waterDecomposition of the organic materials in municipal solid waste can give rise toheavily contaminated waste, known as "leachate", which may pollute bothsurface waters and ground water. Water pollution from leachate is a majorproblem associated with uncontrolled dumping of solid wastes. In Shandurwetlands are near to camping sites from where the solid waste enters the lakesand creates pollution, affecting the biota found there.

Grasses and pasturesThe solid waste is a threat to grasses and pastures because biodegradable solidwaste and liquid waste contribute toxic chemicals which harm the grasses andthe organisms living in the soil.

Recommendations for the future:The solid waste management strategy at Shandur polo festival was planned andexecuted by PWP, NAEPA with help from other partners. They selected sites fordustbins, banners and for the landfill. The element of community participation insolid waste management was very important.



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For the future, following suggestions are made in order to improve solid wastecollection:

♦ The local governments of districts Ghizer and Chitral should be partners ofPWP in waste management because they are the main players andorganizers of the festival activities.

♦ Some level of indifference from the average people was frequentlyencountered. Greater degree of awareness raising should be carried outto bring them on-board next year.

♦ Prior arrangement with event organizers for banner displays andAwareness Walks should be made for easier execution.

♦ Effort should be made to separate the waste into recyclable and nonrecyclable material as much as possible. Arrangements with recyclingcompanies in down-country could be made to sell the material to them, orit could be sold to more traditional waste re-cyclers.

♦ The volunteers’ numbers should be increased from 30 this year to at least40-45 next year to conduct a more effective clean-up drive. Sponsorsshould be found for the additional number of volunteers.

♦ Volunteers should be provided with sticks with hooks to pick up garbageinstead of picking with hands, along with protective masks to guardagainst dust and noxious fumes and smells from various solid wastes.

*****************************************************



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Annex - 1

Pakistan Wetlands Programme

Northern Alpine Wetlands Complex

Regional Operations Base, Gilgit

QUESTIONNAIRE

Information about Respondent

Name: Age:

Village name: Gender:

Qualification: Occupation:

Q1. What is main kind of solid waste?

a) Polyethylene bags b) vegetables waste c) glass bottles d) liquid

waste e) metal disposable materials f) petroleum product waste

Other:

Q2. How much solid waste, approximately have you generated during festival?

a) 1-2kg b) 2-4kg c) 4-6 d) 6-8

Other:

Q3. How much biodegradable solid waste you contribute/day during polo

festival?

a)1-5kg/day b)5-8kg/day c)8-10kg/day

Others:

Q4.How much non bio-degradable solid waste has you generated per day during

festival?

a)1-5kg/day b)5-8kg/day c)8-10kg/day



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Others:

Q5 How many people, approximately, in your opinion have visited during

festival?

a)1-2000 b)2000-3000 c)3000-4000 d)3000-5000

others___________________________________________________________

Q6 How long is the tourist’s maximum stay during festiavl?

a)1-5days b)5-10days c)10-15days d)15-30days

others___________________________________________________________

Dumping sites

Q7. Where are the dumping sites?a) Near wetlands b) Near pastures c) Near nallahs d) Open dumping

sites

Other:

Q8 Because of dumping sites do you have any dieses?

a)typhoid b)cholera c)yellow fever d)stomach problems

Other:___________________________________________________________

Q9 Have you experienced effects on the habitat or bio-diversity of the wetland

complex because of waste materials?

a) Flora b) fauna c) avifauna d) aquatic biota

Other:___________________________________________________________

Q10 Do you have any experience of the fisheries being affected by solid waste or

have diseases increased in aquatic biota?

a)fisheries death b)no effect of the waste c)little appearance of dieseas infisheries.

Other:___________________________________________________________

Q11.Who is responsible for waste management?

a)AKRSP b)wildlife department c)forest department d) WWF

e) villages themselves

Other:



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Q12.Have dustbins been installed by any organization?A)AKRSP b)wildlife department c)forest department d) WWF

Other:



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Annex – 2 Pictures of the activities at Shandur

©Doug Kuzmiak

Training during waste management PWP talking to public about keepingShandur Clean

©Doug Kuzmiak

Garbage collection Dustbin distribution

©Doug Kuzmiak ©Doug Kuzmiak

Waste collection into tractor

Bags dumped into landfill

Photographs by Doug Kuzmiak (Volunteer PWP) and Munnawar Hussain Mousvi (NAEPA)

Assessment Report_ Solid Waste at Shandur

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