Desert locust outbreaks: ecological and economic impacts and management strategies

Abstract The desert locust ( Schistocerca gregaria ) is the most destructive migratory pest in the world, threatening food security and livelihoods, particularly across Africa, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. This review examines historical outbreak trends, emphasizing their cascading ecological and socio-economic impacts, which extend from acute agricultural losses to long-term environmental harm from chemical control. Despite advances in early warning systems, biopesticides, and integrated pest management (IPM) frameworks, their effectiveness is systematically undermined by a persistent implementation crisis. This crisis is characterized by a critical warning–response gap—where delays in funding and coordination mismatch the rapid pace of locust breeding—and by widespread failures to apply established environmental and safety protocols during emergency campaigns. Consequently, the central challenge of contemporary locust management lies not in a lack of technical knowledge, but in the governance deficit that prevents its application. We argue that achieving sustainable control requires a decisive shift in focus toward the structural strengthening of the financial, institutional, and cooperative frameworks essential for rapid, safe, and ecologically sound intervention. Ultimately, desert locust management must be explicitly embedded within broader agendas for climate adaptation, food systems resilience, and biodiversity conservation, supported by robust regional cooperation, inclusive community engagement, and cross-sectoral governance.