- This report sets out Butterfly Conservation Europe’s Strategy for the recovery of European butterflies, particularly Habitats Directive butterflies and their habitats. It sets a long term vision, targets for 2020 and action needed for such recovery, in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy and Actions agreed by EU Heads of Government in 2011 (European Commission 2011).
- BC Europe’s Long term Vision for 2050 is “A more sustainable Europe where butterflies, moths and other wildlife and their habitats have recovered, thrive and are enjoyed by people both for their own sake and for the ecosystem services, including pollination, that they provide. The importance and value of well functioning ecosystems to economic and social wellbeing is well understood and development respects the capacity of the environment and safeguards irreplaceable natural capital.”
- BC Europe Headline Target for 2020 is “Halt the loss of European butterflies and restore them and their habitats in so far as feasible by 2020.” This follows the EU target for 2020 “Halting the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystem services in the EU by 2020, and restoring them in so far as feasible, while stepping up the EU contribution to averting global biodiversity loss."
- Effective implementation of these targets, including reforms to the EU Common Agriculture Policy, to support protection and sustainable management of semi-natural grassland, will be crucial to halting the loss of butterflies and securing improvements in their conservation.
- There are 29 butterflies protected under the EU Habitats Directive. Reports by EU Member States (2000-2006) on the Conservation Status of Habitats Directive butterflies show that most of them have unfavourable – inadequate (U1) or unfavourable - bad (U2) status across all EU Biogeographic zones
Read our detailed Recovery Strategy
