In a first, India observes Big Butterfly Month

In a first-of-its-kind national event named Big Butterfly Month, butterfly experts, enthusiasts and various NGOs came together to raise awareness about butterfly biodiversity and conservation. The aim of the event was to bring together butterfly lovers under one umbrella to preserve its current habitat.

Ranchi: India observed 'Big Butterfly Month' for the first time with the active participation of 560 NGOs to raise awareness about the winged insects' conservation. Experts also joined hands on a national scale for the month-long event which started from September 5.

Till date, 65 species of butterflies have been identified in Jharkhand in which 35 are from Ranchi and Hazaribagh. Over 30 organisations in India, working in the field of biodiversity conservation, came together to host a national event on various aspects related to butterflies, one of its organisers said on Saturday. The selection of butterflies was done through online voting.

"The 'Big Butterfly Count' was held on an all- India level from September 14 to 20, wherein participants were be encouraged to send their submissions to our well- established citizen science digital platforms- Butterflies of India, iNaturalist, and India Biodiversity Portal," he said. These include the National Centre for Biological Sciences (BNHS), the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Dehradun-based Titli Trust.

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, butterfly origami and webinars were also held for school and college students.

During the event named 'Big Butterfly Month: India 2020', various activities like online workshops on butterflies, photography and videography contests and butterfly count was held, he said.

READ: Centre releases Rs 35 cr to Odisha for tiger, elephant conservation

"Butterfly experts, enthusiasts and organisations across the country joined hands for this first of its kind event in India," said Parag Rangnekar, president of Goa-based Foundation for Environment Research and Conservation (FERC), which co-ordinated the programme, said.

"As part of this event, activities like butterfly count, online workshops on butterflies, contests on butterfly photography and videography were held across India," he added.

Rangnekar said, "More than 30 organisations working in the field of biodiversity and its conservation came together to organise this event."

Through the event, people were educated and sensitised about butterflies, he added.

Participants had sent information and other material related to the butterfly species that they spot in their backyard, Rangnekar said.

With PTI inputs