A geographically encoded locust impact minimization information system (Geo-LIMIS) for west Kazakhstan
Duncan Wood,Adrian McCardle
RADARSAT International, 13800 Commerce Parkway, Richmond, B.C. Canada V6Y 1Z3
Ph-604 231 4980
Fax-604 231-4900
email: dwood@rsi.ca
Dibyendu Dutta,Shantanu Bhatawdekar
Regional Remote Sensing Service Centre (RRSSC), CAZRI Campus, Jodhpur
Edige Zakarin,Lev Spivak
Space Research Institute of Kazakhstan, Ministry of Education and Science
Almaty,
Kazakhstan
Abstract
Kazakhstan is a major crop exporter in Central Asia. Dependable agricultural production
significantly affects food security within the country, as well as that of other countries in the
region. Locust infestation is an annual occurrence, but the scale and intensity of the problem in
recent years has reached a crisis level. In a United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization
(FAO) report, the 1999 locust plague caused severe localized damage to crops in Kazakhstan
despite best efforts to control the disaster.
The Department of Space, Government of India together with RADARSAT International, the
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and the Space Research Institute of
Kazakhstan have developed a model to identify areas of locust risk within west Kazakhstan.
Introduction
The Republic of Kazakhstan is the second largest of the Independent states of the former Soviet
Union, next to Russia and a major crop exporter in Central Asia. The country has an abundance
of rangeland, mostly grazed by livestock; cattle, sheep, and goats. During the times of the former
Soviet Union, Kazakhstan was the centre of agricultural production with it’s large steppe land
suitable for wheat growing. As a result of the abrupt institutional changes surrounding the break
up of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan underwent large changes in agricultural production and
subsequently the demand for wheat from Kazakhstan decreased and many of the wheat fields
began to lay fallow. Typical ploughing and planting practices associated with wheat production
were able to control the locust outbreaks during intense agricultural production, however, in
recent years the country has seen a marked increase in locust outbreaks and the problem
continues to worsen.
Although the locust infestation was a problem for most of the last decade, it has sharply
increased since 1997, with serious effects for agricultural production. There are at least a dozen
migratory sub species of locust, each bio-ecologically adapted to the specific eco-climatic
conditions of their environments. Migratory locusts seek optimal temperatures of 20 – 25° C, with
approximately 50-100mm of rainfall per month, and colonize areas of steppe and savannah
where there is little or no tree cover.
The goals of the project were to:
- Establish a Geographic Information System, which would become the basis of a Locust
Management System.
- Develop a local capacity to operate the system and extend the service throughout
Kazakhstan and elsewhere in the region.
