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In
an effort to more effectively manage the USG response,
a disaster assistance response team (DART) from the
Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance was deployed to
the region to provide a more responsive and 'on the
ground' presence. Disaster response specialists from
the US Forest Service (Ron Libby, George Battaglia,
Gina Papke, and Jim Ellenwood) and the Bureau of Land
Management (Bill Laspina and Eva Brown) were called
on to serve on the team from October to December 2004.
These specialists staffed a variety of positions from
GIS coordinator to Locust Emergency Officer. The primary
duty of most of the team was liaison and flight operation
coordination to the Joint Operation Center. Each evening
the Flight Ops Coordinator helped facilitate information
gathered by each country's field monitoring teams into
a target prioritization list of locust swarms. This
team was also responsible for developing the daily flight
plan for the spraying operations. Other members of the
team were responsible for producing all of the GIS data
used to track the swarms. The team also conducted field
assessments in the most affected areas to determine
the appropriate USG response to the crisis.
Mauritania:
The number of swarms has begun declining in Mauritania
as control interventions have intensified and escapee
swarms move northward. Unless rains begin falling in
the winter/spring breeding areas in Mauritania, it is
likely that control operations for this summer will
be concluded within two to three weeks. As of November
3, a total of 735,232 of the estimated 1.6 million hectares
infested had been treated with pesticides, according
to the Ministry of Rural Development and of the Environment.
Treatment teams from the USAID/DART and the locust control
units from Mauritania and Senegal have been operating
since October 10. As of November 3, the USAID/DART aerial
spray campaign had treated 230,686 hectares in Mauritania,
representing nearly a third of the treated areas to
date in the country. WFP has warned of a potential food
crisis in the country resulting from locust invasion
and drought, since under normal conditions Mauritania
manages to grow only enough food to meet a third of
national requirements. The joint FAO/CILSS/WFP Crop
Assessment Mission will provide information on the extent
of the locust invasion's impact on food security in
Mauritania.
Senegal:
The locust situation has improved as aerial and
ground control operations have intensified since early
October. Senegal's MOA reported that control operations
were effective in protecting vulnerable crops and pasture,
as well as in significantly reducing locust numbers
over vast areas, including the Senegal River Basin in
Mauritania and Senegal. As of November 3, the MOA and
USAID/OFDA's Assistance for Emergency Locust/Grasshopper
Abatement (AELGA) project reported that a total of 667,277
hectares had been treated with pesticides, of which
95,714 were sprayed by the USAID/DART and the locust
control unit from Senegal.
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