Desert locust outbreak in Mauritania - Situation assessment, forecasts and measures envisaged


The situation is under control and closely followed by FAO and CLCPRO
The National Center for Locust Control (CNLA) of Mauritania is continuing land operations of survey and control in the central and western central regions of the country on larval aggregates and fledglings. The Commission against the Desert Locust in the Western Region (CLCPRO) and FAO convened an emergency ad hoc meeting to assess the locust situation and consider additional measures to those taken by Mauritania. The experts noted that environmental conditions in the Western central region of Mauritania remain favourable for the survival and reproduction of the desert Locust.

The locust situation is under close watch
In the surveyed area, the experts noted larval aggregates of all stages and new hatching over small areas. An increase in larval numbers in Mauritania is expected hence the need to strengthen the monitoring and control. However, no swarms have been observed and the probability of creation is low. The situation does not present immediate threat to agriculture in the Western Region countries and the information available does not indicate the presence of large locust populations in the other countries of the Region.

An action plan with strong regional support for the period November 2009-March 2010
Scenario 1. This scenario is the most plausible and would be applied to 40 000 ha of land. Its cost is estimated at U.S. $ 700 000 and could be financed as follows: U.S. $ 317 000 directly from the country and the AELP project of the World Bank, U.S. $ 100 000 from the CLCPRO Trust Fund, and the remainder could be financed by FAO and eventual partners. This should help control the current outbreak in December unless heavy rains and well distributed precipitations are recorded in the coming weeks.
Scenario 2. In cases significant rainfall would be recorded in November, the action plan would be revised upwards by the CNLA with the reinforcement of operation teams from neighbouring countries and a major support from development partners.

 

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