Why we hate biodiversity so much
Locust swarms infesting Mauritania and other African nations could develop into a full-scale plague without additional foreign aid, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said Thursday. The region is facing its most serious locust crisis in 15 years, with swarms of desert locusts (an element of biodiversity) moving from northwest Africa into Mauritania, Mali and Niger, where many people are subsistence farmers.

"Many African countries do not have sufficient funds to finance national control campaigns fully and avoid crop losses," the organization said. "Aircraft, pesticides, vehicles, sprayers, monitoring capacity and technical support are lacking in all affected countries." The FAO said there was also a moderate risk that swarms would reach Darfur, Sudan, where violence has left 2 million people short of food and medicine.

Desert locust swarms usually contain millions of insects per square mile and can travel more than 90 miles a day. They can devastate entire crop fields in minutes, with adult locusts munching their own weight, about 0.0755 of an ounce, a day. The swarms are stoking fears of famine, and the Rome-based U.N. agency said the situation was deteriorating in countries like Mauritania and Mali. "FAO estimated that up to around $100 million are needed to control the current locust upsurge and stop it from developing into a full-scale plague," it said in a statement.

It said the international community had already earmarked $32 million in aid, and the FAO said it had provided $5 million from its own resources. Some African nations have also mobilized their own resources.
- nostradamusfunkadelic, 4:59 PM | |