www.fao.org/ag/locusts An area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) approach involves a preventative rather than a reactive strategy whereby all individuals of the pest population are targeted in time and space, resulting in more cost-effective and sustainable pest management. FAO’s Desert Locust preventive control strategy is a prime example of AW-IPM. The FAO Senior Locust Forecasting Officer was invited to present FAO's Desert Locust early warning system and the use of technical innovations at the Third International Conference on Area-wide Management of Insect Pests: Integrating the Sterile Insect and Related Nuclear and Other Techniques at IAEA, Vienna (Austria) on 22 May 2017.

1. Technical innovations
in Global Desert Locust
Early Warning
Keith Cressman

2. Desert Locust
Fall Armyworm
Caucasus &
Central Asia locusts
Red Palm Weevil
major transboundary pests

3. Early warning systems
in progress Caucasus & Central Asia (since 2010)
75 years Desert Locust (since 1943)
emerging Red Palm Weevil (2017)
Fall Armyworm (2017)

4. a swarm of Desert Locust

5. a swarm the size of Vienna
eats the same amount of food in 1 day
as everyone in Austria + Switzerland

6. 50 countries
Desert Locust
Schistocerca gregaria
20% of the Earth’s land surface

7. irregular recessions & plagues
(1860–2017)
0
13
25
38
50
1860 80 1900 20 40 60 80 2000
recession plaguecountries

8. YEARS
PREVENTIVE
$ 570 MILLION CONTROL OPERATIONS
(2003–2005)
$ 3.3 MILLION ANNUAL COST
PREVENTIVE CONTROL
(10 COUNTRIES W+NW AFRICA)
3 = 170YEARS
CURATIVE

9. rainfall
unusual events
temperature
increase
winds
shifting
climate change impacts
★ more rapid
maturation
★ more frequent
outbreaks
★ new invasion
areas
more Desert Locusts !

10. information flow
FOR AREA-WIDE PEST MANAGEMENT
1. collect 2. analyse 3. advise

11. Desert Locust early
warning system
3
SWARMS geographic information system
SEASONAL PREDICTIONS
5
6
1
frontline
secondary
invasion2
analysis
data collection
MODIS-DERIVED MAPS
4
advice (outputs)
7
RAINFALL ESTIMATES

12. Innovations
eLocust3
• handheld data logger
• data transmission by satellite
• navigate to vegetation
without Internet
Dynamic greenness
• MODIS-derived
• on-demand delivery by GEE
• new: dryness & soil moisture
GIS analysis
• open-source
• use team communications to
provide training & support

13. SUCCESSFUL
area-wide pest management
✓ meet & adapt to users’ needs
✓ keep it simple but powerful
✓ issue clear & well-targeted outputs
✓ provide sufficient training & support
✓ give feedback & motivation
✓ develop partnerships & networks
✓ always innovate sensibly

14. always innovate . . .
remote sensing
telecommunications
computing
transport
data management

15. 100km
survey2 site
inspection3 safe
control4ID by
satellite1
D R O N E S

16. extensive survey
LONG-DISTANCE DRONE to find green areas within vast desert

17. ADDITIONAL EXTENSIVE SURVEYS from field base camp
50-100 km

18. intensive site inspection
ROTARY DRONE surveys site for locust infestations

19. control
CONTROL DRONE sprays locust infestations

20. Desert Locust
Fall Armyworm
Caucasus &
Central Asia locustsRed Palm Weevil
• Learn from world’s oldest migratory pest early warning system
• Appropriate innovation can lead to success
• Adapt & apply to other area-wide pest management