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Counting the cost of vulture decline--An appraisal of the human health and other benefits of vultures in India

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  • Markandya, Anil
  • Taylor, Tim
  • Longo, Alberto
  • Murty, M.N.
  • Murty, S.
  • Dhavala, K.

Abstract

Widespread use of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac to treat livestock has resulted in dramatic declines in the populations of vultures across India. This has become an issue of considerable concern as vultures are a keystone species and their decline has a range of socio-economic, as well as cultural and biodiversity impacts. In this paper, we review these impacts and estimate in detail the economic cost of one of them: the human health impacts of the vulture decline. Livestock carcasses provide the main food supply for vultures, and are also eaten by dogs. Dogs are the main source of rabies in humans in India, and their populations have increased substantially in parallel with the vulture decline. The potential human health impact of rabies associated with the vulture decline is found to be significant. This, and a wide range of other impacts suggest that significant resources should be put into (1) testing of pharmaceutical products to ensure that similar situations are not repeated, (2) helping vulture populations to recover through the use of alternative drugs to diclofenac that are of low toxicity to vultures, and (3) through conservation breeding programmes.

Suggested Citation

  • Markandya, Anil & Taylor, Tim & Longo, Alberto & Murty, M.N. & Murty, S. & Dhavala, K., 2008. "Counting the cost of vulture decline--An appraisal of the human health and other benefits of vultures in India," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 194-204, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:67:y:2008:i:2:p:194-204
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    Cited by:

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    2. Eyal Frank & Anant Sudarshan, 2024. "The Social Costs of Keystone Species Collapse: Evidence from the Decline of Vultures in India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 114(10), pages 3007-3040, October.
    3. García-Jiménez, Ruth & Morales-Reyes, Zebensui & Pérez-García, Juan M. & Margalida, Antoni, 2021. "Economic valuation of non-material contributions to people provided by avian scavengers: Harmonizing conservation and wildlife-based tourism," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    4. Plaza, Pablo Ignacio & Lambertucci, Sergio Agustín, 2022. "Mitigating GHG emissions: A global ecosystem service provided by obligate scavenging birds," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    5. Pahl, Cameron C. & Ruedas, Luis A., 2021. "Carnosaurs as Apex Scavengers: Agent-based simulations reveal possible vulture analogues in late Jurassic Dinosaurs," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 458(C).
    6. Gupta, Urvi & Qureshi, Qamar & Kumar, Nishant, 2020. "Folk perceptions for avian scavengers in a tropical megacity: implications for biocultural conservation," SocArXiv tmdv4, Center for Open Science.
    7. Cody S. Clements & Zoe A. Pratte & Frank J. Stewart & Mark E. Hay, 2024. "Removal of detritivore sea cucumbers from reefs increases coral disease," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    8. Carucci, Tomaso & Whitehouse-Tedd, Katherine & Yarnell, Richard W. & Collins, Alan & Fitzpatrick, Fran & Botha, Andre & Santangeli, Andrea, 2022. "Ecosystem services and disservices associated with vultures: A systematic review and evidence assessment," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    9. Nicolas Treich, 2021. "Cultured Meat: Promises and Challenges," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 79(1), pages 33-61, May.
    10. Farley, Joshua, 2012. "Ecosystem services: The economics debate," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 40-49.
    11. Dupont, H. & Mihoub, J.B. & Becu, N. & Sarrazin, F., 2011. "Modelling interactions between scavenger behaviour and farming practices: Impacts on scavenger population and ecosystem service efficiency," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 222(4), pages 982-992.
    12. Frank, Eyal G. & Sudarshan, Anant, 2022. "The Social Costs of Keystone Species Collapse : Evidence From The Decline of Vultures in India," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1433, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.

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