Recovery Strategy

1. 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 and action needed for such recovery, in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy and Actions agreed by EU Heads of Government.
2. 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.”
3. BCE Headline´s Target for 2020 “Halt the loss of European butterflies and restore them and their habitats in so far as feasible by 2020” has not been met. This followed 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". All are agreed further action is required, especially to sustain and restore ecosystems and reverse declines in conservation status of species, including wild pollinators.
4. 4. Effective implementation of EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 targets, including reforms to the EU Common Agriculture Policy and inclusion of more funded incentives in MSs CAP Strategic Plans, to support the protection and sustainable management of semi-natural grasslands and their characteristic species, will be crucial to halting the loss of butterflies and securing improvements in their conservation.
5. 5. There are 29 butterflies protected under the EU Habitats Directive. HD Article 17 Reports by EU Member States on the Conservation Status of Habitats Directive butterflies show that most of them still have unfavourable – inadequate (U1) or unfavourable - bad (U2) status across all EU Biogeographic zones and many are still declining. Recovery action is urgently needed. MSs Pledges to improve Conservation status trends must include some recovery for HD Butterflies and Red Listed species.

Read our detailed Recovery Strategy