AIR-CAS released "Desert Locust Plagues in Asia and Africa" reports, aiding prevention and control

This year, the team led by Huang Wenjiang, a researcher at the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIR-CAS), and Dong Yingying, an associate researcher, focused on the desert locust plague that has been causing severe damage to agricultural and livestock production and food security in various countries in the Horn of Africa and Southwest Asia. By using China Gaofen (GF) series satellite data, US Landsat and MODIS data, and European Space Agency Sentinel series satellite data, as well as global meteorological data and pest control survey data, and combining them with pest prediction and forecasting models, the team analyzed and processed the big data through the Digital Earth Science Platform, achieving large-scale monitoring and early warning of locust dynamics and assessment of agricultural and livestock losses, responding to the call of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for joint prevention and control measures to be taken globally.

Since February of this year, the research team has been continuously releasing ten scientific reports on the "Monitoring and Assessment of Desert Locust Plagues in Asia and Africa", monitoring and warning the core breeding areas and migration paths of desert locusts in Asia and Africa from 2018 to 2020, as well as providing a dynamic assessment of agricultural and livestock losses and migration patterns in the key affected countries (Pakistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Yemen, India, Nepal). All research results and datasets are publicly available through the Earth Big Data Science Engineering Data Sharing Service System (data.casearth.cn).

On the one hand, their research results provide decision-making support for dynamic pest control measures to protect agricultural and livestock production in multiple countries, and on the other hand, they provide spatial information technology support for international organizations such as the FAO and the joint prevention and control of pest outbreaks by multiple countries under the United Nations. In the future, the research team will continue to closely monitor the migration and impact of pests and provide remote sensing monitoring products and services to support scientific pest control measures, ensuring food security and regional stability.

The research is supported by projects such as the A-class Strategic Priority Science and Technology Program of CAS "Earth Big Data Science Engineering", the National Key Research and Development Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology "Dynamic Monitoring Technology for Earth Resources and Environment", and the National Key Research and Development Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology "Remote Sensing Monitoring, Early Warning, and Control Technology for Major Diseases and Pests of Cereal Crops".