Summary of 1990 aerial operations

DEERT ANYISORY GIMITTEE .' .tVelfth session > ocP/EAct2,/lriefing paper no. 9 rial larviciding of Sierra lrone yith large and perennial practically the same number of flight hours as in 1989. L \' ,) \Ouagadougou. 10 -14 June 1991 Briefing, session B June 1991 \ \ SUMMAI{Y OF 1990 AERIAL OPERATIONS 'a The aerial contract for the period lgg}-lgg}came into force as from 1 January 1990 and is characterized by substarltial price increases per flight hour; 40Vo for the helicopters and turbo thrushes ancl 3l7o for the Cessna. In acldition, the price per supplementary helicopter and turbo thrush flight hour has been increased by 50o/o. The aerial operations activities were carried out by a fleet of seven to ten helicopters and two turbo thrush aircraft. The helicopters whosb number was less than that of 1989 flew a total of 1,191.5 hours compared with 7,165.8 hgurs in 1989. This shows that on average each helicopter w95 more utilized in 1990 than iri 1989. The two turbo aircraft flew 629.3 hours in 1990 compared with 703.2 hours in i989. Thus, they were less utilized in 1990 than in 1989. There was, in general, ldss rainfall in 1990 than in 1989. For example the following table is a comparison of rainfaill at some hydrological stations in the eastern zone: The six operational I of larvicides were consumed Permethrin (44,472 litres), I used on a rotational basis and 632,500 litres 4 (406,501 litres), chlorphoxim (33,631 litres), 6,115 litres), and Pyraclofos (2,954 litres). Production of chlorphoxim celsed in 1990 and has been replaced with phoxim. Although there was less rainfall in 1990 than in 1989 more larvicides were consumed in 1990 than in 1989 except f{r permethrin and chlorphoxim. fiurthermore, the 406,501 litres of EJ; H-14 used in 1990 is almost double the 274,937 litres used in 1989 an<l the spraying of this larvicide co a lot of aircraft flight time. I [n spite of this and the inclusion in 1990 under full rivers, we managed to mainta The eighth and ninth ntract review meetings were held respectively on 18 and 19 September 1990 at Evergreen'q headquarters in McMinnville and on 3 and 4 April 1991 at OCP in Ouagadougou. Ererg[een's bverall performance has imiroved. For eiample the release systems worked satisfActorily and were subject to fewer breakdowns. Aircraft 1 Height of water (mm) 1990 Hydrological Station 1989 Kara Atakpame Parakou Bohicon Kandi r,216.7 1,479.3 1,454.8 7,222.7 1,167.7 1,330.6 7,019.2 1,038.7 852.4 803.4 2breakdowns also decreased, but the Cessna had to make a forced landing near Bobo- Dioulasso in November 1990 because of an engine problem. Pilot turnover in Odienne is however still considered to be too high. The updating of the current Invitation to Bid for the next aerial contract covering 1993 to 1995 has started and should be finalized and ready for distribution to bidders by the end of the year. In conclusion, compared to the previous years, there has been an overall improvement in the operations and in 1990 aerial larviciding was once again successful in - maintaining control of S. damnosum s.l.