6 February 2015: The UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Dutch Butterfly Conservation, the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON) and European Biodiversity Observation Network (EU BON) convened a workshop of 14 global experts in butterfly monitoring, particularly in the tropics and subtropics, with the objective of developing a standardized, global set of butterfly monitoring guidelines to enable aggregation of data through Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBV) towards a global butterfly indicator.

Participants at the workshop, which convened in Leipzig, Germany, from 8-9 December 2014, shared their experiences of working in the tropics and sub-tropics to find a methodology that could be applied globally to produce data that could then be aggregated through the EBV into a global butterfly indicator. The experts discussed: different protocols to evaluate their compatibility and agree on a standard set; the steps involved in processing count data into indicators and trends; and which variables are essential for measuring changes in butterfly populations.

Standardization of monitoring protocols is essential not only for robust estimation of global butterfly populations required to assess progress towards the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), but also for developing scenarios for the future of butterfly populations under different policy and management options.

Outcomes of the workshop included: catalyzing the development of global butterfly monitoring guidelines and the global butterfly indicator; a set of journal articles; and the establishment of a new butterfly monitoring group. [UNEP-WCMC Press Release]