FAO Desert Locust Bulletin No. 357 - 02 Jul 2008

General Situation during June 2008

FAO
Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Forecast until mid-August 2008

The Desert Locust situation was calm during June but there is a possibility that a few undetected swarms may have persisted in the Ethiopian Highlands, which could move towards northern Somalia. In the spring breeding areas, ground control operations ended against groups of hoppers in southeast Iran while small residual populations persisted in western Pakistan. Limited control was also carried out against groups of adults in the Algerian Sahara. Local breeding occurred in southern Egypt, near the Indian border in Pakistan and perhaps in eastern Ethiopia. So far, only low numbers of adults have been reported in the summer breeding areas of the Sahel in West Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and in southwest Asia. If more rains fall during the forecast period, small-scale breeding will cause locust numbers to increase slightly in the Sahel between Mauritania and Eritrea, along both sides of the Indo-Pakistan border, and to a lesser extent in the interior of Yemen. Regular surveys should be carried out in all of these areas.

Western Region. The situation continued to be calm during June. Low numbers of solitarious adults were present in the central Sahara in Algeria that, in the coming weeks, could drift south into the northern Sahel. Isolated adults were seen in Niger on the southern Tamesna plains and in the Tenere Desert, which suggests that scattered locusts may be present throughout the area. Although surveys were not carried out in the other Sahelian countries, ecological conditions were dry and the seasonal rains have only reached the very southern portion of the breeding area. Hence, very few locusts are likely to be present but numbers will increase slightly after the rains reach further north in southern Mauritania, northern Mali and Niger, southern Algeria, and eastern Chad. Only limited surveys are likely to be possible this summer in some of these areas due to insecurity.

Central Region. The situation returned to calm in June due to an apparent lack of locust activity in eastern Ethiopia where a few swarms may have remained undetected in the Harar highlands and small-scale breeding may have occurred in parts of the Ogaden. Consequently, there is a low to moderate risk that a few small swarms could move towards the Ogaden and northern Somalia in early July. Breeding could still occur in the Ogaden if more rains fall. Local breeding occurred in June near Lake Nasser in southern Egypt where scattered adults are likely to persist. Scattered adults were also present in the interior of Yemen. During the forecast period, small-scale breeding in the interior of Sudan, western Eritrea and Yemen will cause locust numbers to increase slightly.

Eastern Region. Ground control operations were undertaken in early June against a few groups of hoppers that remained in southeast Iran, and small residual populations were present in Baluchistan in western Pakistan. In the summer breeding areas along the Indo-Pakistan border, early breeding occurred in Pakistan where low numbers of hoppers and scattered adults were seen. So far, no locusts were reported from adjacent areas in India. During the forecast period, small-scale breeding will occur along both sides of the Indo-Pakistan border, causing locust numbers to increase slightly.

Source: FOA, July 02, 2008