KARACHI: Speakers at a programme organised on Wednesday at a local hotel highlighted the critical role donkeys and their owners play in the management of the city’s solid waste, while expressing concern over the health risks communities and animals associated with the job had to face.

They also shared a number of recommendations to help improve the situation, one of which pertained to the integration of these ‘workers’ into the city’s waste management system, recognition of marginalised communities and enforcement of animal welfare laws.

The programme titled ‘Silent helpers — Role of donkey carts in waste management system of Karachi’ was organised by Brooke Pakistan, the local chapter of a worldwide non-governmental charity organisation aiming at ensuring working equine animals get the living and working conditions they deserve and support livelihoods of poor communities.

The event opened with a briefing by retired Brigadier Rashid Siddique, the chairman of the NGO’s board of trustees.

The organisation, he said, was very much keen to work with the solid waste management system authority in Karachi. The collaboration, he said, would help alleviate the sufferings of marginalised communities and animals engaged in refuse collection and transportation business.

Giving a presentation on the key findings of a study focusing on the role of donkeys and their owners in the city’s solid waste management system, Naeem Abbas representing Brooke, said that only 40 per cent out of the total 12,000 tonnes of solid waste generated in the city daily was removed by local authorities. The rest was taken care of by the poor and their donkeys.

“Most of the solid waste in Pakistan is still managed by marginalised and unrecognised communities that collect garbage at household levels. The business is supporting livelihoods of 25,000 people in Karachi alone,” he told the audience.

The majority of waste pickers (64pc) were below the age of 18. Of them, 75pc were below the age of 14. Twenty-six per cent of solid waste dumping sites within the city were unofficial.

“The health and hygiene of waste collectors is at high risk as they are exposed to many toxic substances and chemicals,” he said, while suggesting integration of cart owners with the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB).

Former MPA Mehfooz Yar Khan, the chief guest who spoke on behalf of Karachi mayor, appreciated services of the non-governmental organisation especially with regard to the lives of donkey cart owners and their animals.

“The local government will become the voice for the needy donkey owning communities whose role in cleaning the city is undoubtedly significant,” he noted.

Sharing similar sentiments, Asjad Mehmood of SSWMB gave an assurance on behalf his department to integrate donkey cart owners into the formal system and do the needful for the rehabilitation of these communities.

Mahmood Cheema, the country head of International Union for Conservation of Nature, called for collaboration among various stakeholders for compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Cart donkeys are not only managing waste in the city but also supporting to protect the ecosystem. There is a need to work collaboratively instead of working in silos for the compliance of SDGs,” he remarked.

Expressing her concern over the involvement of children in refuse collection business in large numbers, Zahida Jamali of Unicef said that this problem highlighted in the study needed immediate attention of authorities concerned.

These children should be in schools and enjoying their childhood instead of working as labourers to support their families, she noted.

Other speakers included representatives from World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan, World Health Organisation and HANDS. They supported the concept of ‘One Health and One Welfare’, which meant that the health and welfare of humans and animals was interconnected and linked with the environment.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2019