A Sustainable Preventive Strategy

Historical perspective

The huge swarms of the Desert Locust have been known since historical times as a major threat to crops in North and Central Africa, the Near East and South-west Asia. In these regions, Desert Locust plagues have always been considered a major disaster. After the locusts destroyed the fields, famines often followed. In modern times, emergency locust control projects are initiated when large scale locust infestations develop. FAO's mandate as an international organization, is to monitor the Desert Locust situation, coordinate assistance and provide technical advise.

Desert Locust management through emergency projects is difficult to achieve since this particular pest can rapidly increase in numbers and migrate over long distances. Effective containment is further compounded by delays and logistical problems in providing assistance. The goal of the Desert Locust component of EMPRES is to develop a more proactive approach to the problem, particularly in countries from where locust upsurges and plagues have frequently originated in the past. Such key areas are located around the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, in certain countries of the Sahel and in parts of South-West Asia.

Why is Desert Locust control so difficult?

The current approach to Desert Locust management is constrained by several factors.

• Inherent geographical and biological difficulties

Locusts breed and survive within desert areas extending from West Africa to South-West Asia. During quite periods (recessions), the size of this area is about 16 million square km; during plagues, locusts invade neighboring countries, extending this area to 29 million square km. The vast majority of these areas are remote with very little developed infrastructure. This is further compounded by the ability of the Desert Locust to rapidly increase in numbers and migrate several thousand kilometers in a short amount of time.

• Weak national capacities

Locusts were not seen as a high priority between 1962 and 1985 because environmental conditions in breeding areas were usually not very favourable for the development of major upsurges. During this period, economic constraints and other pressing problems resulted in a deterioration of national locust control services in a number of key affected countries.

• Weak regional organisations

Regional locust control organisations in East and West Africa have in the past provided valuable assistance to national locust operations. However, they are financed from contributions by the affected countries and have equally experienced increasing financial difficulties. Over the years they have lost a significant part of their capacities.

• Reliance on crisis management

The weakening of locust control services and organisations has increasingly resulted in a shift from sound pest management to reacting to emergencies. Crisis management inevitably involves delays, a low efficiency/cost ratio and an inability to contain upsurges at an early stage.

• Lack of fast and efficient methods

Comparatively effective, quick-to-apply and cheap control methods became available in the late 1950s which were based on persistent organochlorine pesticides like dieldrin. These were discontinued when it became clear that they posed unacceptable risks to human health and the environment. The current methods require that pesticides are applied in a more precise manner directly onto locusts. This means more resources are needed to locate and treat infestations.

• Health and environmental hazards

Pesticides currently used have probably few long term effects and do not accumulate in man or other living organisms. Short-term effects do, however, exist and its is important that application follows strict protocols and is done by well trained personnel in order to reduce the hazard to human health and minimise environmental side-effects.

• Security problems

Survey and control operations often have to be carried out in important breeding areas in which access is severly restricted due to civil conflicts and general insecurity. Sometimes such places are near sensitive border areas. Currently, it is difficult to access parts of Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Yemen, Mali, Niger, Sudan and Egypt.

Why a new approach?

The Desert Locust plague from 1986 to 1989 and the large current upsurge which started in 1992 have caused widespread concern related to:

• the apparent increase in the frequency of such events
• the economic cost of control
• the safety and environmental impact of the chemical pesticides used
• the capacity at national and regional level to deal with the problem in an efficient and effective manner

A consensus was reached among FAO, affected countries, and donors that it is time to find new approaches for minimising the risk of Desert Locust plagues developing in the future. The Desert Locust component of EMPRES has been designed to address these concerns.