The Desert Locust is considered to be one of the most dangerous pests threatening crop production and food security. It could be defined as being the oldest registered pest because of the danger it poses and because of its great ability to live and breed under various ecological and climatic regimes in areas covering 29 million square kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to India and Pakistan in the east, and comprising the entire area or parts of 64 Member Nations.

Since the Desert Locust has the capacity to fly long distances and migrate very quickly, it is considered to be an international pest that no single or a number of Member Nations can control without collaboration of all concerned. It was therefore determined that Desert Locust breeding areas should be divided into three major regions: Eastern, Central and Western regions for the purpose of survey and control. FAO assumes the responsibility for coordinating the Desert Locust management in these three regions and encourages further studies and research in Desert Locust management to prevent future occurrences and invasions.

In view of the wide-range of terms and local expressions, of the limited availability of specialized scientific locust glossaries and of the rapid scientific and technological developments, an inclusive, simplified and clear glossary was issued in Arabic, English and French. This glossary includes scientific and technical terms, expressions and idioms that are commonly and frequently used in the field of locust and grasshoppers; and meets the urgent need of users in applied and research activities in the three regions. 

A working paper on preparing and producing an encyclopaedic glossary had been presented and endorsed by the 24th Session of FAO Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Central Region (CRC) in April 2004 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was agreed by the Commission that the draft of both English and Arabic versions would be circulated to universities, research centers and scientific institutes to gather views and comments.

FAO subsequently selected an eminent experts in the Central Region, Professor Mahmoud Fahmy Harb, from the Plant Protection Research Institute in Egypt,  to begin compiling most of the English expressions, terms and scientific idioms relevant to locust field and allied sciences using all available resources.

Feedback from stakeholders was incorporated into the English version, and the Arabic version was subsequently prepared on the basis of regional linguistic idiosyncracies.

The Arabic version of the Glossary was also widely circulated for comments and views, and subsequently, dispatched to the FAO Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Western Region for preparation into the French language.

FAO is grateful to Professor Mahmoud Fahmy Harb for the over three years he dedicated to prepare this Glossary containing more than 3000 concepts. FAO also thanks the colleagues who provided feedback and amendments to the first version of the Glossary. Special thanks also go to Dr. Munir Butrous, Secretary of the Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Central Region, for the time and dedicated efforts in this endeavour, and for revising the final versions of the English/English and English/Arabic glossaries.

We welcome input from anyone using this Glossary, as well as any suggestions on how to further improve it.

The Glossary comprises complex English scientific and technical terms and idioms whose precise meanings cannot easily be identified in the agricultural fields. Arabic terms were therefore presented to express the meaning of these concepts and idioms as far as possible. In cases where no Arabic equivalent or definition exists, the term or the idiom has been carefully translated by consultants.

Finally, the Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Central Region expresses its appreciation and deep gratitude to everyone contributing to produce the glossary in this form.