A time for change

Abstract

Plagues of the Desert Locust are occurring, on average, one year in every six. Highly mobile swarms may then threaten a vast territory stretching from Mauritania to India, and Turkmenistan to Tanzania. In the last ten years two major upsurges have occurred. Development agencies including the World Bank have assisted the control efforts of affected countries; financial assistance totaled some USS383 million over this period. This paper highlights a number of issues associated with these operations. One key question concerns the extent to which the rationale for control is based on a realistic assessment of the risks posed to agricultural production and livelihoods. At the same time, it appears that a lack of preparedness on the part of all major actors is contributing to the 'emergency' status of control operations. When operations are undertaken it is not clear that an effective technical strategy currently exists, or is being employed, given logistical, institutional and resource constraints. This is contributing to inefficiencies and increased environmental costs. Moreover, sustainable capacity is not being developed in most of the affected countries and donor dependence is high. Little agreement exists amongst the main parties affected countries, donors, and FAO (the lead agency) on how to deal with these problems. The paper contributes to the ongoing debate on these questions with several specific suggestions. A key proposal is that the strategy for control should shift from one which seeks to prevent an upsurge occurring (which has not been possible so far) to one that is closer to the integrated pest management (IPM) approach, where a variety of means are used to keep economic, social and environmental impacts below acceptable threshold limits. Initiatives are identified at national, regional and international levels. Donors can help affected countries in a number of ways through long term country assistance grants and loans, including assistance to develop improved policies, early warning systems, contingency plans and control strategies linked to environmental impact assessments. Not all countries can justify the expenditure on significant locust control capacity and the building of regional cooperative links is important; however these will only be sustainable if mechanisms are established to ensure long term financing by member countries. Gaps in critical minimum capacity, for example in key potential outbreak areas around the Red Sea, could be addressed through a collaborative regional effort to develop the requisite technologies, institutions and policies. The role of the international community is also discussed. Several measures are suggested to improve the speed of response should internationally coordinated control efforts be required. A key issue is the need to target assistance efforts effectively according to assessed needs; a related need is to improve the transparency of decision-making based on a set of agreed threshold criteria. Ultimately, it is argued, little progress will be possible until affected countries, donors and FAO are able to unite behind an agreed management strategy. The paper suggests that FAO leads a dialogue with the main stakeholders with a view to developing a specific Desert Locust policy.