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Long-term tsetse and trypanosomiasis management options in West Africa
| Acronym: | WATTStrategy |
| Project type: | Consulting Series RTD |
| Time frame: | 2001 - 2003 |
| Funding agency: | IAEA | FAO |
| Geographic keyword: West Africa |
| General keyword: Decision support | GIS |
| Specific keyword: Livestock production systems | Tsetse | African animal trypanosomiasis |
A GIS application for the selection of tsetse control areas in West Africa.
Avia-GIS was contracted by FAO (Rome, Italy) and the joint FAO-IAEA division (Vienna, Austria) to contribute to a series of workshops organised by the Program for African Animal Trypanosomiasis (PAAT) in Geneva (Suisse), Rome (Italy), Vienna (Austria), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and Ougadougou (Burkina Faso). The aim of this series of consultancies was to provide state of the art GIS input to assist with the selection of priority areas for area wide trypanosomiasis control. In addition the consultant also contributed to the International Conference: "Sustainable crop-livestock production for improved livelihoods and natural resource management in West Africa" organised by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI, Nairobi, Kenya) in Ibadan (Nigeria).
At a later stage the essential components for the development of a land use plan for implementation in areas under agricultural and livestock development in the moist savannah zone of West Africa, where tsetse / trypanosomosis intervention is proposed were identified and an action plan was designed.
Finally a GIS tutorial tailored for West African Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis was developed and tested during a GIS course organised in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso).
Four significant outcomes of these series of consultancies are made available here:
1.Lead paper prepared by Guy Hendrickx for the FAO/IAEA Workshop: "Strategic Planning of Area-Wide Tsetse and Trypanosomosis Control in West Africa", Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from 21 to 24 May 2001. This paper focuses on the methodology used to select priority areas using GIS.
2.The PAAT technical and scientific series paper n˚6 - Long-term tsetse and trypanosomiasis management options in West Africa, co-authored by Guy Hendrickx, Stéphane de La Rocque and Raffaele Mattioli (The abstract of this paper is given below).
3.Report on land use monitoring in areas selected for area-wide tsetse elimination in West Africa.
4.GIS tutorial series for T&T staff (in French).
Abstract PAAT technical and scientific series paper nËš6:
Tsetse transmitted animal trypanosomiasis (T&T) is a complex disease that directly and indirectly impacts Africa�s crop and livestock agriculture. This awareness has generated over the past decade a drive and political will towards solving the problem at the continental scale. In his paper the authors use state of he art spatial tools to study how, for West Africa, the variety of agro-ecological settings may impact decision support towards that goal.
First the authors describe an approach towards selecting priority areas for area wide T&T control based on the mapping of (i) dominant livestock systems with particular emphasis on the integration of livestock and crop agriculture towards mixed farming practices, (ii) tsetse ecology bands linked to the geo-climatic settings prevailing in West Africa: a Northern dry band with fragmented tsetse populations and a Southern humid band where tsetse are widespread. Priority areas are identified in the northern band of the tsetse belt where: (i) tsetse populations are fragmented (and therefore vulnerable) or confined only to suitable vegetation along main river courses, (ii) fly re-invasion risk is minimal due to land-pressure and adverse climatic conditions for tsetse, (iii) mixed farming predominates and an improved integration of crop and livestock agriculture may yield he highest benefits.
In the second part three case studies are discussed: the Togo national study (FAO project GCP-TOG-013-BEL), the study of the Sideradougou pastoral area (CIRAD-CIRDES project) in Burkina Faso and the Mouhoun river basin study (FAO project GCP-RAF-347-BEL) in Burkina Faso. These three studies aimed at developing decision support tools for the planning and implementation of integrated T&T control based on holistic data sets on the spatial epidemiology of T&T (vectors, pathogens, hosts) and the impact of T&T on people, their environment and their livestock production systems. The studies are complementary, and therefore highly relevant to this paper, with regard to (i) the geo-climatic settings covered: in Togo a transect through humid to semi-humid West Africa and in Burkina Faso from semi-humid to dry, and (ii) the scale at which he studies were conducted: in Togo at a national scale, on the Mouhoun � river at the river basin scale and the Sideradougou pastoral area at the village scale.
It is clear from the results of the case studies that any decision support towards tsetse-trypanosomiasis management in West Africa must consider the fact that the epidemiology of tsetse transmitted trypanosomiasis varies with varying climatic settings and land use patterns. Therefore, the sustainable management of this major threat to animal health will have to be systematic, stepwise and pragmatic. Based on the experience gained in Togo and Burkina Faso a list of the data inputs needed to achieve such a high level of integration is given.
It is concluded that an integrated tsetse-trypanosomiasis management approach relies on the quality of an extensive list of field data (vector, pathogen, host, livestock systems, agro-ecological setting) and the detailed knowledge of geo-epidemiological patterns. We must remain cautious when making choices and avoid being lured into choosing overly simple solutions for solving complex problems.
Though in West Africa elimination of the fly and the disease may be achievable in the drier parts at the Northern limits of the tsetse belt several crucial assumptions remain to be validated through field research. These include investigations on fly fragmentation, population isolation and fly dispersion (e.g. Mouhoun model).
In the more humid parts, the most viable option remains an integrated approach combining (i) vector suppression in epidemiological hotspots (e.g. Sideradougou model) and (ii) disease management at the herd level through the strategic use of trypanocidal drugs and/or genetic improvement of local trypanotolérant breeds (e.g. Togo model).
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