A Plague of Locusts

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so they can worship me.  If you refuse, watch out! For tomorrow I will bring a swarm of locusts on your country.  They will cover the land so that you won’t be able to see the ground. They will devour what little is left of your crops after the hailstorm, including all the trees growing in the fields.  They will overrun your palaces and the homes of your officials and all the houses in Egypt. Never in the history of Egypt have your ancestors seen a plague like this one!” And with that, Moses turned and left Pharaoh.

Exodus 10, as Moses sought to have the Pharaoh let his people go.

The notion of a plague of locusts permeates the bible. There have been books written throughout history, movies made but the real thing is terrifying and often occurs in the most fragile agricultural areas. They literally eat every shred of vegetation in sight, each consuming the equivalent of its body weight every day. Normally solitary insects (grasshoppers), they swarm when a confluence of environmental stimuli triggers mass cohesion. They then act as a group, a humongous devouring machine. There is no regularity for such swarming, but when it comes, it is devastating. What is making this worse is that the situs of expected swarming is expanding with climate change.

Antarctica and North America are the only two continents that have not experienced locust swarms. And while they are everywhere else, their worst damage has been focused in North, East and West Africa and the Middle East. But the heavy swarming is now challenging new areas, as will be discussed below. Controls are best implemented early in the swarm. But what exactly is a plague of locusts?

The phenomenon is cyclical. “Locusts are the swarming phase of certain species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances become more abundant and change their behaviour and habits, becoming gregarious… One of the greatest differences between the solitary and gregarious phases is behavioural. The gregaria nymphs are attracted to each other, this being seen as early as the second instar. They soon form bands of many thousands of individuals. These groups behave like cohesive units and move across the landscape, mostly downhill, but making their way around barriers and merging with other bands. The attraction between the insects seems to be largely visual, but also involves olfactory cues, and the band seem to navigate using the sun. They pause to feed at intervals before resuming their march, and may cover tens of kilometres over a few weeks…

“The desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) is probably the best known species owing to its wide distribution (North Africa, Middle East, and Indian subcontinent) and its ability to migrate over long distances. A major infestation covered much of western Africa in 2003-4, after unusually heavy rain set up favourable ecological conditions for swarming. The first outbreaks occurred in Mauritania, Mali, Niger, and Sudan in 2003. The rain allowed swarms to develop and move north to Morocco and Algeria, threatening croplands. Swarms crossed Africa, appearing in Egypt, Jordan and Israel, the first time in those countries for 50 years. The cost of handling the infestation was put at US$122 million, and the damage to crops at up to $2.5 billion.” Wikipedia

The relevance of locust swarms combined with the ravages of climate change, particularly as this phenomenon migrates, is a much greater threat to human life than it has ever been. Areas already vulnerable from rising temperatures and drought are now seeing infestations of swarming locusts, consuming basic and already-dwindling food crops desperately needed to feed populations now veering toward mass starvation.

“The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said Tuesday [2/25] that a small group of desert locusts had entered Congo, marking the first time the voracious insects have been seen in the Central African country since 1944. U.N. agencies warned of a ‘major hunger threat’ in East Africa from the flying pests. Kenya, Somalia and Uganda have been battling the swarms in the worst locust outbreak that parts of East Africa have seen in 70 years. The U.N. said swarms have also been sighted in Djibouti, Eritrea, Tanzania and South Sudan.” Los Angeles Times, February 26^th.

“When swarms are at their nascent stages, containment is more effective. So the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is appealing for an immediate member contribution of $61 billion to be deployed for East Africa alone. “In January, FAO appealed for $76m. That figure has now risen to $138m. So far, only $52m has been received, $10m of which has this week come from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation...

“Control operations against locusts are under way in 13 countries, from India in the east, all the way across to Mauritania in West Africa… The main threats are in East Africa and [war-torn] Yemen, as well the Gulf states, Iran, Pakistan and India… Most recently, locusts have been seen in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and swarms have arrived in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, and along the coast of Iran.

“The FAO has told us that in three of the worst affected countries, Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, they estimate that at least 100,000 hectares in each one needs to be sprayed with insecticide… By the end of January, they were substantially short of this target in those countries in East Africa…

“Vehicles, planes, personal safety equipment, radios, GPS units and camping equipment are badly needed… Aerial and ground spraying combined with constant tracking of the swarms - which are constantly on the move - are viewed as the most effective strategies.

“Stephen Njoka, head of the Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa, the regional body coordinating the fight against the locusts, told us: ‘We have a challenge in the number of aircraft available - there are not enough. Pesticides are also in short supply.’" BBC.com, February 26^th. That millions of people, already on the edge of subsistence, could die as a result creates a humanitarian crisis of literally biblical proportions. Desperate people with nothing to lose, starving to death. In some of the worst conflict zones on earth. It is a bad mix. And sooner or later, it will impact the United States as crises build on crises, impacting both on a local and a global level.

            I’m Peter Dekom, and not dealing with this now, not contributing to containing this disaster, will cost the world vastly more down the line.