东非蝗虫入侵接近成熟危机

联合国粮食和农业组织警告[内罗毕]在东非和邻国的未来几周内，破坏性沙漠蝗虫的广泛孵化和运动将变成一场成熟的危机。beplay下载官网西西软件

“Breeding continues in the Horn of Africa, which will cause locusts to increase further in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya with new swarms forming in March and April,” explains the FAO in a forecast.

沙漠蝗虫已经摧毁了70,000公顷farmlandin Ethiopia and Somalia, threatening食品安全and livelihoods in both countries. According to the FAO, locust swarms of one square kilometer can eat the same amount of food in one day as about 35,000 people.

“Urgent efforts must be made to stop [the desert locusts] from increasing to protect the livelihoods of farmers and livestock holders.”

Keith Cressman, FAO

FAO说，这是肯尼亚70年来最糟糕的蝗虫入侵，而埃塞俄比亚和索马里则经历了25年前的这种幅度。

The region experienced abnormally heavy rains between October and December, with flooding in regions that are normally semi-arid, creating conditions that are favourable for locust breeding.

"Locust swarms have started laying eggs and another generation of breeding will increase locust numbers," says Keith Cressman, a senior locust forecasting officer at the FAO. "Urgent efforts must be made to stop them from increasing to protect the livelihoods of farmers andlivestock持有人。”

Stephen Njoka, the director-general of Desert Locust Control Organisation for Eastern Africa, tellsSciDev.Net：“气候变化could be behind this invasion, for example the current rains in Kenya are very unusual, making vegetation available to the pests and creating suitable egg laying sites in the soil.”

The Horn of Africa, made up of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, has about 115 million people. Because locusts have been found to be nutritious by some communities and cultures in the region, eating them may be a mild measure of control given the overwhelming numbers of the insects, Njoka suggests.

Njoka says that aerial and ground spraying with safe pesticides are the best ways to control locust invasion. The FAO says US$70 million is needed to support rapid control operations, such as spraying with insecticides.

沙漠蝗虫在肯尼亚。版权：FAO/Sven Torfinn(This image has been Cropped).

But Daniel Otaye argues that the use of pesticides in the control of locusts is a source of concern, as pesticides might have devastating effects on other beneficial insects such as bees, green lacewings, and dragonflies, which contribute to ecosystemhealth。

Otaye,副教授和主席Department of Biological Sciences, Egerton University in Kenya, says: “The invasion poses disastrous effects on the East African region that is still smarting from insecurity, droughts and aggressive floods.”

According to Otaye, the insects can devour fields of crops, such as maize and sorghum, and ravage pastures meant for livestock. He tellsSciDev.Netthat if the situation is left unchecked, the region might need additional food aid because of the anticipated crop and forage losses.

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