Desert Locust Plagues: Controlling the Ancient Scourge

by Colin Everard, Robert A. Cheke (Foreword by)

Overview

For thousands of years, humans have found themselves vulnerable to plagues of desert locusts. Some fifty countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia have been ravaged, at one time or another, by huge, devouring swarms of locusts. With the consequent, often total, destruction of crops and grazing, widespread hunger and starvation ensued. Colin Everard's book takes as its geographical focus the Horn of Africa, an area which throughout history has suffered catastrophically from locust plagues. Based on his own extensive experience in the region, Everard describes one of the greatest (albeit unsung) triumphs of the twentieth century, namely, how the desert locust scourge has, at last, been virtually brought under control.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781788314350
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/21/2019
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.73(h) x 1.01(d)

About the Author

Colin Everard worked with Desert Locust Control in the Horn of Africa, as well as in Kenya, the then Tanganyika (now Tanzania), and in Uganda. As head of operations in the field for Desert Locust Control, he was responsible for the strategic mounting and directing of anti-locust campaigns to combat huge invasions of desert locust swarms during an extended plague period; these campaigns were aimed at protecting the agriculture and livestock grazing of the region.
Subsequent to his work with Desert Locust Control, Colin Everard worked in the International Civil Aviation Organization. He lives in Vienna. This is his fourth book.

Robert A. Cheke is Professor of Tropical Zoology at the Natural Resources Institute of the University of Greenwich. Before university, he qualified as a grade A bird ringer and worked as a field assistant at the British Trust for Ornithology. After graduating with a PhD in zoology at the University of Leeds, he held various posts in academia before becoming employed at the Centre for Overseas Pest Research (then part of the Ministry for Overseas Development). Robert's work has frequently taken him to sub-Saharan Africa, where he has been able to follow his passion for sunbirds. He is the co-author of The Birds of Togo (1996), has edited or co-edited six further books and published more than 500 scientific papers. Robert was awarded a DSc by the University of Greenwich for his extensive research work in 2021.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Foreword Professor Robert A. Cheke xii

Acknowledgements xv

Introduction 1

1 An Uninvited Christmas Visitor 9

2 Luk Haiyah 19

3 The Locust Life 39

4 The Ogaden 67

5 Stones 91

6 The Tip of the Horn of Africa 113

7 A Change of Aircraft 155

Epilogue: Controlling the Desert Locust - the Situation in 2018. Progress and Problems 181

Afterword 195

Appendix 198

Index 201

Editorial Reviews

It is a very personal account that echoes humanity in a world where being human is sometimes disappearing … [A] must-read for those wishing to learn about the world's most dangerous migratory pest … Desert Locust Plagues is a modest testimony to the silent and mostly unknown efforts by so many people who continue to protect our food security.” —Keith Cressman, Senior Locust Forecasting Officer, Food and Agricultural Organization, United Nations

“Everard's book is both a memoir of an exciting and sometimes hazardous career - every chapter has a close brush with death - and also an account of the development of the technology.” —Times Literary Supplement

“In this lovely little book – part science, part autobiography – Colin Everard tells tales of his time in the Horn of Africa 60 or so years ago ... [and] offers a keen analysis of the scientific developments that have helped the cause – from pesticides that don't do too much environmental harm, to satellite observation ... [His] appreciation of the region's natural beauty is infectious.” —Geographical Magazine

“One of the great unsung achievements of the 20th century and Everard pays it a fitting tribute.” —Daily Mail

“Everard's passages on locusts are interesting, as are those on the technological developments.” —The Spectator

“An enthralling account for anyone who remembers how tough and yet supremely fulfilling it could be to brave deserts, mountains, the elements and hostility in order to further a crucial cause. If your patch included any of Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti or Kenya it is nigh on compulsory reading.” —Bill Jackson, Bodleian Library, Oxford University

From the Publisher