Sir David Attenborough aghast at global decline of butterfly population

Disappearance of species points to catastrophic environmental damage, says Sir David.

By Michael McCarthy
Friday, 26 March 2010 Butterfly numbers are declining rapidly all around the world, Britain’s leading conservationist, Sir David Attenborough, warns today. The celebrated television presenter is sounding the alarm that butterfly loss, a concern in Britain for decades, has become a global problem, with species disappearing in every continent. They range from the giant swallowtail of Jamaica to the Atewa dotted border from the Atewa mountains of Ghana, from the Oregon silverspot of America’s Pacific coast to the Apollo butterfly of the Alps. And their disappearance is a clear indication, Sir David says, of something going very wrong in the background environment. He is signalling the threat in a speech to the largest-ever gathering of butterfly experts, who come together today for a three-day symposium in Reading. “Butterflies are sensitive indicators,” Sir David said. “They decline when habitats are destroyed and when man harms the environment. We have known about butterfly losses in Britain for over 50 years. Now there is mounting evidence that it is a global problem.” The symposium, attended by 300 scientists and organised by the British charity Butterfly Conservation, has been called to assess the success of efforts around the world in meeting the United Nations target of halting biodiversity declines by 2010. However, the agenda reflects fears in countries throughout Europe and as far apart as Japan and the United States that there is still a long way to go to achieve this. “Halting biodiversity loss is the coming decade’s great challenge,” Sir David said. “It’s on a par with getting a man on the moon. An increase in butterfly numbers around the world could be the first indication that we’ve achieved this goal. Like that first step on the moon, it would be a giant leap for mankind.” …