Urgent action to support the resilience of vulnerable populations - Desert Locust threat in the Sahel-June 2012

Following unusual rains in late 2011 and early 2012, Desert Locust infestations were first reported in southwest Libya and in southeast Algeria in January 2012.

Despite insecurity along both sides of the border, more than 60 000 hectares have been treated by national teams, thanks to the support provided to Libya by FAO and the FAO Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Western Region (CLCPRO). As ecological conditions dried out, locusts migrated south in the areas of recent rainfall in Niger and Mali from late May onwards.