Tourist Waste Blamed for Declining Yak Population and Deaths in Shandur

CHITRAL: Residents of Laspur Valley in Upper Chitral have blamed solid waste left behind by tourists during the annual Shandur Festival for the declining yak population and repeated livestock deaths in the region. Local community leaders say that since the festival became a regular annual event in 1982, thousands of visitors have left plastic waste, food leftovers, and other garbage across the Shandur Polo Ground and surrounding pastures, where yaks and other grazing animals feed during the summer months. According to local social figure Suharwardi Khan Yaftali, yaks – locally known as Zogh – are a vital source of livelihood, providing milk, meat, wool, and farm labor, but their numbers have fallen significantly over the past four decades.

He claimed that grazing animals often consume contaminated waste, leading to fatal diseases and contributing to a decline of nearly 50 percent in the local yak population. Residents also say that increasing tourism and environmental pollution are disrupting the animals’ natural habitat, making survival more difficult for this rare Tibetan breed. Retired government official Yousuf Shahzad noted that Shandur serves as the main summer grazing ground for several villages and criticized the absence of an effective solid waste management system despite the area’s international recognition as the world’s highest polo ground. He added that more than 15 yaks reportedly died after this year’s Shandur Festival, held from June 11 to 13, renewing calls for stricter waste management, environmental protection, and sustainable tourism measures to safeguard the region’s fragile ecosystem.