Conference
Understanding the interconnectedness: lessons learnt from the ongoing desert locust crisis 2019-2021+
TMG showcases work on the desert locust upsurge in the GLF event on the sidelines of COP26
Understanding the interconnectedness: lessons learnt from the ongoing desert locus crisis 2019-2021+
“The Horn of Africa is facing the worst desert locust crisis in over 25 years, and the most serious in 70 years for Kenya. The current situation – is set to become a regional plague…. which represents an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods in the region and could lead to further suffering, displacement and potential conflict.” FAO (2021)
This session, taking place as part of the GLF Climate conference on the sidelines of COP 26, is dedicated to the ongoing upsurge in Desert Locust numbers, with a focus on its connections to the climate crisis. The Desert Locust crisis warrants careful scrutiny. Despite the predictions of many experts the outbreak is still ongoing, profoundly threatening vast regions, especially the Horn of Africa and Western Asia. Livelihoods and food security are in peril. The locust crisis is negatively impacting the substantial investments made by many development organizations in the afflicted regions, with the World Bank estimating that damages and losses could amount to USD 8.5 billion in East Africa and Yemen in 2020 alone. Furthermore, locust numbers are surging at a time when the affected countries are under unprecendented pressure from Covid-19 and climate change.
There is increasing evidence that weather changes due to climate change have played an important role in the ongoing desert locust outbreak, and are responsible in particular for its magnitude and intensity. Given that climate conditions favouring desert locust outbreaks will likely occur more frequently in the future, this session calls for new governance and an innovative Early Warning System to increase resilience in an interconnected world facing unprecedented disasters.
The session is hosted by TMG Research and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
If you would like to attend the event, we do have a few free tickets available, please reach out to us at media@tmg-thinktank.com.
The Interconnectedness Between the Ongoing Desert Locust Crisis 2019-2021+ and the Climate Crisis
Session hosted by TMG, BMZ, IGAD and the Swette Center at Arizona State University.
Working Paper
A Scoping Paper on the Ongoing Desert Locust Crisis 2019-2021+
A call to instill and coordinate innovative early warning and outbreak prevention systems both at the global and regional level to increase resilience in times of the climate crisis
Written by Alexander Müller, Swantje Nilsson, Adam Prakash and Elena Lazutkaite
Published on Feb 15, 2022
Presentation
Understanding the interconnectedness
Presentation slides on the need for an early warning system ahead of desert locust swarms
Written by Elena Lazutkaite
Published on Nov 6, 2021
