General situation as of 15 November
2004
The Desert Locust situation remains
extremely serious in Northwest Africa where significant efforts are being
made to control numerous immature swarms from the summer breeding areas
in the Sahel. In West Africa, a substantial number of swarms remain in
western and southwestern Mauritania, and smaller infestations are present
in northern Mali and Niger. Locusts have declined in the other Sahelian
countries. More than 700,000 ha have been treated so far this month in
West and Northwest Africa. A few more swarms were reported in northern
Egypt and perhaps in Cyprus but there have been no new reports of locusts
in Crete, Lebanon or Israel.
Numerous immature swarms continue to reach the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and Algeria, and other swarms have drifted east to southern and central Tunisia. Most of the swarms are concentrated in the Souss Valley in Morocco while some have penetrated the Atlas Mountains and appeared on the northwest coast near Essaouira and in the northeast. Intensive aerial and ground control operations treated nearly 465,000 ha in Morocco (1-13 November) and are in progress in Algeria but no details have been received; Tunisia treated 22,000 ha (1-10 November). Good rains fell in some of these areas during the past week. No new reports have been received from Libya.
In southern and southwestern Mauritania, numerous immature swarms are present and moving to the north. A few mature swarms were reported in the northwest and in Western Sahara where it is dry even though light to moderate rains fell on 8-9 November. Aerial and ground control operations continued against immature swarms in southern Mauritania and northern Senegal where 183,000 ha (1-10 November) and 35,800 ha (1-5 November) were treated respectively. After the 5th, no further swarms were reported in Senegal.
An immature swarm appeared in northern Burkina Faso on the 8th from western Niger. Although small infestations of hopper bands and swarms are present in northern Mali, control was not carried out. Late instar hopper bands, fledglings and immature swarms persist in Niger in the Tahoua region where control operations treated 1,000 ha on 1-4 November. In Cape Verde, a few swarms were seen on Boa Vista, Brava and Santiago islands, and hatching and band formation are underway in some areas. Control operations treated 517 ha on 1-12 November. No new information has been received from Chad.
In the past week, several immature swarms moved east along the northern coast in Egypt and invaded farms between Cairo and Alexandria. More locusts may have reappeared recently in Cyprus on warm southwesterly winds.
The most up-to-date information on the situation and photos are available on the Internet (www.fao.org/news/global/locusts/locuhome.htm) as well as maps of the latest infestations (193.43.36.11/mapper).