The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia covers a total area of 1,104,300 km2 between latitudes 3°30´N and 18°N and longitudes 33°E and 48°E in the north-eastern horn of Africa . It is bounded on the north-east by Eritrea and Djibouti, on the east and south-east by Somalia, on the south-west by Kenya and on the west and north-west by Sudan.

The heart of the country is formed by a vast mountain mass between 2,100 and 2,500 m in altitude with some peaks rising above 4,000 m. Ras Dashen is the highest point at 4,620 m. The massif is divided into two plateaus - the Central Ethiopian and Galla-Somali- separated by the Rift Valley, in which lie several lakes in the south and the Awash River in the north, a river vital for the irrigation of the extensive plains leading to the Red Sea and Somalia.

Ethiopia harbours some secondary breeding areas mainly during the summer season along the wadis in Dire Dawa, Somali, Afar and Tigray regions on roughly 300,000 – 400,000 ha and to a lesser extent during the spring and winter breeding seasons in the areas of Somali and Dire Dawa.

Desert Locust management in Ethiopia is decentralised under the supervision and guidance of the Plant Protection Division under the Crop Protection Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Addis Ababa. The Plant Protection Division is handling all migratory pest matters and is operating a Locust Information Office, equipped with a modern data management system, Reconnaissance and Management System of the Environment of Schistocerca (RAMSES).