PRESS
RELEASE
Embargoed to 0001 on Tuesday December 4
BRINGING BUTTERFLIES BACK FROM THE BRINK
The achievements of a groundbreaking project in the Wyre Forest, which has doubled the
numbers of a rare butterfly over the past 10 years, were recognised in a new report launched
at the House of Commons this week by national charity Butterfly Conservation. The Back to
Orange project in the Wyre led by Butterfly Conservation and the Forestry Commission and
delivered in partnership with Natural England has successfully increased populations of the
Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterfly through carefully targeted management. The Pearlbordered Fritillary is one of the UK’s fastest declining butterflies but, as a result of the work
that has taken place, is now thriving in the Wyre.
The Wyre project is one of twelve projects highlighted in the report where work by Butterfly
Conservation at a landscape level has enabled threatened butterflies to flourish. The report
Landscape-scale conservation for butterflies and moths: lessons from the UK shows that
large scale projects aimed at restoring and joining up habitats really works and enable
threatened species to flourish after decades of decline.
Dr. Jenny Joy, Butterfly Conservation’s Senior Regional Officer in the West Midlands who
helped to manage the Back to Orange project said “we are very pleased that work in Wyre
Forest has now received national recognition. Our achievements have demonstrated clearly
that with determination, enthusiasm and the involvement of key partners there is a way back
for rare butterflies. Other butterflies and many other insects, plants and birds have also
benefitted from the work undertaken and it is great at a time when we still read of declining
and threatened wildlife that we can reflect on a project that has been so successful”.
Richard Boles, Area Forester from the Forestry Commission said “We have been working
closely with Butterfly Conservation for a number of years and their advice has been a key
factor in the way we manage our ride and track edges. The extra funding has enabled us to
carry out some very progressive work that continues to show huge benefits for invertebrates,
reptiles and many other species.”
Butterflies are the most threatened wildlife group; more than three-quarters of Britain’s 57
resident species are declining and over 40% are listed as Priorities for Conservation. More
than 80 moth species are also at risk. Most threatened species are now confined to small
patches of habitat that have been left isolated within the modern intensively managed
countryside. For over a decade, Butterfly Conservation has adopted a landscape-scale
approach to conserving these areas in order to manage existing habitats more effectively
and link them with newly restored habitats. This combination of targeted management and
restoration has allowed many species to flourish in each of the 12 landscapes covered in the
report.
The report lends weight to the recent Government paper by ecologist Professor Sir John
Lawton Making Space for Nature which states that we must make habitats far bigger, better
managed and more connected if species are to survive in the future.
Sir John said: “The Butterfly Conservation report shows what can be achieved through a
highly focused species-led approach.
“Very simply ‘more, bigger, better and joined’ works, and needs to be rolled out far more
widely. Recreating, restoring and joining up habitats benefits not just butterflies and moths,
but a host of other creatures with which they share their habitat.”
Dr Sam Ellis, Butterfly Conservation Head of Regions, said: “Our report shows that
landscape-scale conservation works for our most threatened species. We now need to raise
the funds to implement landscape projects across the UK to halt the dramatic decline of
butterflies and moths.”
Butterfly Conservation is calling on government to provide more funding for landscape-scale
initiatives and targeted species conservation in order to reverse the decline in biodiversity
and achieve the government’s 2020 targets on biodiversity.
Notes
The report Landscape-scale conservation for butterflies and moths: lessons from the UK is
available from the Butterfly Conservation website
www.butterfly-conservation.org/landscapereport
In 2011, the Government agreed to new EU Biodiversity Targets to halt the loss of
biodiversity and restore ecosystem services by 2020. The recent Natural Environment White
Paper states that one of the main ways it will achieve this is through landscape scale
initiatives.
The Government has recently announced £7.5 million funding for 12 Nature Improvement
Areas to pilot the landscape approach across a range of species and habitats. The report
provides crucial evidence that this approach works.
Contacts
Dr. Jenny Joy (Butterfly Conservation) 07968 549580
Richard Boles (Forestry Commission, Wyre Forest) 07801 910983
Mike Williams (West Midlands Butterfly Conservation) 07802 274552
For images and other information contact the Butterfly Conservation press office: 01929
406005 news@butterfly-conservation.org
Butterfly Conservation is the largest charity of its type in the world. Our aim is the
conservation of butterflies, moths and their habitats. We run conservation programmes for
more than 100 threatened species and manage over 30 nature reserves.
www.butterfly-conservation.org