Geo-limis - a decision support system for minimizing locust impact in republic of kazakhstan

Desert locusts (DL) are serious problem during April to August in the deserts and semi-deserts of Republic of Kazakhstan and causing extensive crop damage. There is no institutional and functional mechanism to forecast the habitat of locusts and most of the area remains unnoticed after laying eggs. The key to improve DL forecasting and control depends on the collection and generation of historical database on locusts, weather and habitat from affected region. Looking at the problem, a Spatial Decision Support Systems (DSS) has been developed on ARC/INFO GIS with ergonomic user interface for ingestion and subsequent analysis of locust related information vis-à-vis bio-physical and climatic data acquired from various satellite sensors and hydromet weather server respectively, to identify high frequency breeding areas well before the physiological development is completed. Weather based analytical models for physiological development of DL has been dovetailed with the SDSS for facilitating historic and present data analysis in relation to locust activity. This has augmented the surveying capability and better forecasting.