Desert Locust technical assessment Israel (16-19 May 2013) Keith Cressman Senior Locust Forecasting Officer, FAO Rome Executive summary 1. On 2 March 2013, the FAO Desert Locust Information Service (DLIS) warned Israel that Desert Locust groups and swarms were likely to arrive in the Negev Desert from Egypt on 3-4 March. Within 12 hours, the Plant Protection and Inspection Service (PPIS) had informed the office of the Prime Minister, established a 24-hour telephone hotline for reporting sightings, deployed teams, equipment, and pesticide, and placed aircraft on standby. 2. On 4 March, swarms first arrived, quickly matured and laid eggs on 15 March that hatched in mid- April, causing hopper bands to form in the Negev Desert. 3. PPIS treated 14,400 ha of adult groups and swarms (4 March - 2 April) and 14,100 ha of hopper groups and bands (15 April to present) of which half were by air. The cost of the control efforts so far are estimated at more than USD 4 million. 4. The Reporting Officer made an unscheduled emergency visit to assess the current situation by helicopter and ground means, and to discuss the situation, response and outlook with PPIS. 5. Fourth instar hopper bands are present within a 1,300 km2 area in the northwest of the Negev Desert, south of Gaza and in adjacent to the Sinai Peninsula. The hoppers will start to become adults before the end of May, and a few small immature groups and swarms are likely to form by early June that could threaten crops before they migrate to the summer breeding areas in Sudan. Local movements back and forth across the Egypt/Israel border can be expected from the last week of May and should not be mistaken for a general invasion. 6. The current strategy should be to control as many as possible of all hopper populations that are present in the infested area. Although crop protection may be a priority, all hopper infestations that are currently detected in the dune area should be treated in order to reduce the scale of adult populations that could threaten crops. 7. Current survey and control operations should be maintained until the end of June; thereafter, the situation should return to normal. 8. There are sufficient teams, equipment, pesticide, and aircraft to undertake the necessary survey and control operations in the infested areas in Israel. 9. Survey and control operations are in progress against similar populations in adjacent areas of northeastern Sinai by Egyptian locust teams but are limited by insecurity. 10. FAO can play an important role in improving Desert Locust control in Israel now and in the future by: (1) providing training on technical and operational aspects of Desert Locust including biology, survey, reporting, control and contingency planning, (2) continuing to provide early warning and keeping Israel informed of the Desert Locust situation in Egypt, (3) encouraging direct communication by email or telephone between the national locust programs in Israel and Egypt in order to facilitate the sharing of information on a regular basis regarding survey and control results undertaken in both countries, and (4) exploring possibilities that Israel become a member of the FAO Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Central Region (CRC). DESERT LOCUST ASSESSMENT ISRAEL (MAY 2013) Desert Locust technical assessment Israel (16-19 May 2013) Keith Cressman Senior Locust Forecasting Officer, FAO Rome 1. Background During the winter of 2012/13, unusually good Desert Locust breeding occurred along the Red Sea coastal plains on both sides of the Sudan/Egypt border from December to February. Immature adults formed groups and small swarms by mid-February. Some of these populations moved north along the Red Sea coast, reaching Cairo on 2 March and continuing to the northern coast of the Sinai Peninsula the following day (Annex 1, Fig. 1). Other groups and small swarms are thought to have reached the Gulf of Suez and penetrated the interior of the Sinai Peninsula during March. This could not be confirmed due to insecurity and the related lack of surveys. The FAO Desert Locust Information Service (DLIS) issued a Desert Locust Warning to Israel on 2 March that immature adult groups and small swarms were likely to invade the Negev Desert on 3-4 March. On 4 March, at least one small immature group arrived in the northern Negev Desert at Be'er Milka (3056N/ 3424E), and a small immature swarm crossed the nearby border at Nitzana (3053N/3425E) on the 5th. Isolated immature gregarious adults from the northern Sinai Peninsula appeared on the coastal plains from south of Tel Aviv to north of Haifa on 4-6 March (Annex 1, Fig. 2). Another wave of immature groups and small swarms appeared from the 10th onwards, dispersing across the northern Negev between Nitzana, Ze'elim (3112N/3432E), and Arad (3115N/3512E). The adults did not cause significant damage to crops as they had eaten at their origin along the Egypt/Sudan border. Instead, they matured quickly and started laying eggs on 15 March and continued until the end of the month. The eggs started hatching on 10 April, in other words, 26 days after laying which is almost two weeks longer than normal due to relatively low temperatures. The hatchlings formed numerous small but dense hopper bands. By mid-May, the majority of the hoppers had reached the fourth instar stage. The Plant Protection and Inspection Service (PPIS), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is coordinating the control campaigns. Two campaigns have been undertaken: one against the adult groups and swarms that arrived from Egypt in which ground and aerial PPIS teams treated 14,400 ha from 3 March to 2 April 2013, and one against hopper groups and bands arising from subsequent local breeding in which 14,100 ha were treated from mid-April to present1. EC-formulated pyrethroid pesticides, Lambda- cyhalothrin and Lambda-cypermethrin, were used in the adult and hopper campaigns, respectfully. 2. Current situation Infested area. Desert Locust infestations are currently present within an area of about 1,300 km2 in the northwest of the Negev Desert in western Israel, adjacent to the Sinai Peninsula. The infested area is defined by Gaza to the north, the Egyptian border to the west, cropping areas on the edge of the Negev to the east, and the Mitzpe Ramon canyon to the south. The area is roughly 34 km wide (east-west) by 37 km long (north-south). Habitat. A few wadis bisect the area in the south (Nahal Laban) and southeast (Nahal Besor). The habitat consists of low sand dunes, ridges, depressions and inter-dunal areas containing dry annual grasses and small shrubs mixed with perennial bushes that remain green in the wadis but are drying out on the dunes. 1 Adult campaign (ILS 1.9 million): 5,400 ha treated by air and 9,000 ha by ground; hopper campaign (ILS 13 million): 9,100 ha treated by air and 5,000 ha by ground PAGE 2 OF 8 DESERT LOCUST ASSESSMENT ISRAEL (MAY 2013) There are no roads or settlements in the dune area. A few villages and agricultural areas are located on the periphery in the southwest at the Egyptian border (Be'er Milka, Nitzana, Kmehin), the southeast (Ashalim, Telalim, Revivim, Halutsa), and in the northeast (Ze’elim). Primarily potatoes, cereals, orchards and olive trees are present at this time of year. The area also contains a natural reserve and a military training zone with limited access. The border is fenced and fortified. The habitat south of this area is less favourable for Desert Locust survival and breeding because it is drier, rockier and less sandy. Substantial agriculture is found northwest of this area, stretching for about 200 km along the Tel Aviv coastal plain from Beer Sheva in the south to Haifa and the Lebanese border in the north. There is a distinct difference in the habitat in adjacent areas of the Sinai Peninsula west of the border where much less vegetation is present in the dune area, perhaps due to overgrazing. As a result, the habitat is likely to be more favourable for Desert Locust survival and breeding on the Egyptian side of the border. Survey results. The chief survey officer2 and Reporting Officer (RO) conducted a 2.5 hour helicopter survey within the infested area (Annex 2). Small groups and bands of mainly gregarious fourth instar hoppers were seen from the air in the dune area. These were confirmed on the ground during several short landings. The largest and heaviest concentrations were present in Nahal Besor near Halutsa where small dense hopper bands were seen from the air in open spaces between the large green perennial bushes along a one km stretch of the wadi. A ground survey was carried out in the northern portion of the infested area with PPIS3, confirming the results of the helicopter survey. The hopper bands were actively marching in the morning and afternoon, and were roosting at mid-day. Due to the differences of habitat on either side of the border, there may be larger infestations present on the Egyptian side. However, this has yet to be confirmed. Large numbers of migratory storks were seen throughout most of the area. Normally, their migration route is to the east of the infested area; however, they were present in the infested area this year and remained so for a longer period than normal, presumably because the Desert Locust infestations were a good source of food. Field operations. The PPIS who is coordinating the control campaign is in regular contact with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.