Scoping paper on the ongoing desert locust crisis

Against all expectations, the Desert Locust upsurge that began in 2019 is still ongoing also at the beginning of 2022. The upsurge continues to profoundly threaten vast regions, especially the Horn of Africa and Western Asia, with already vulnerable regional rural livelihoods and food security put at further peril.

Given that due to climate change, conditions favoring desert locust outbreaks will likely occur more frequently and in intensity, a new scoping paper published by TMG calls for renewed global governance. Through a meticulous analysis of the ongoing crisis, the paper argues that, in an interconnected world facing unprecedented events and disasters, it is pivotal 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.

TMG’s work on locusts should serve as an exemplar to reshape our thinking about transboundary threats considering climate change and how the interplay of science, infrastructure, management strategies, and a global governance model can lead to a more resilient future.