Central to the pest control strategy itself has been the male annihilation technique (MAT). As male flies are attracted to the lure, the male population is reduced to the point where reproduction is no longer possible, eventually leading to eradication. Fibre blocks impregnated with the mixture are dispersed from ultralight aircraft equipped with a simple geographical information system (GIS)/global positioning system (GPS) unit in an effort to ensure comprehensive coverage of the infested area.

The communication-based strategy relies on an ICT-based approach - using technologies ranging from written materials to multimedia and remote sensing - to enable citizen participation. For example, ICTs were used to support a public relations campaign and an extension programme to ensure that rural communities understand and participate in the programme. Radio, TV, and group video sessions were used to build local institutional capacity, including training, environmental monitoring, and research to provide information for the development of techniques for fruit fly detection, control, and eradication.

A regional organisational framework was also built. An ICT platform using modern electronic information exchange, combined with conventional knowledge networks, has been the central tool in the coordination of inputs of scientists, technicians, and administrators as part of this framework.

Agriculture, Technology.

In the mid-1990s, the presence of the CFF represented a major threat to the production and marketing of fruits and vegetables throughout tropical and subtropical Central and South America and the Caribbean. Entomologists identified 236 different species of host fruit; surveys found that the initial spread of the CFF was linked with increased fruit cultivation and the transportation and marketing of infected material. Simple technologies (the fax machine) were used to discover the range of the CFF (it can migrate distances of more than 50 km). It was found that the fly is not constrained by natural barriers such as dense forests, or by the isolated pockets of fruit tree cultivation.

According to organisers, ICTs are important tools in classical biological control, as well as in integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. For instance, they can be used to distribute information, such as survey data, bulletins, aerial photographs and maps. They also help to quickly diagnose and confirm pests, to plan and design effective responses, and to carry out post-campaign quarantine operations.

In Apura and Wageningen in Suriname (on the north coast of South America), before the use of MAT, the number of flies captured exceeded 15 males per trap per month. After releasing blocks impregnated with methyl eugenol and the bioinsecticide, the fruit fly population was eradicated from the treated areas. In the untreated area, Saramacca, the number of captured flies remains high. Brazil and Guyana are virtually free of CFF. In French Guyana, the programme is not making substantial progress. The coastal area is heavily infested.