Building a future with pollinators
Butterfly is taking action to address the cascading risks associated with pollinator decline. Our vision is ambitious but clear: to develop and promote the concept of responsible pollinator stewardship, helping to reshape society’s relationship with biodiversity in a more sustainable and respectful way. Four pathways will lead to this goal 1) Tools for actionable pollinator knowledge, engagement and decision support; 2) Living Labs as long-term test beds for evidence-informed solutions and policy interventions; 3) Education of stakeholders at all levels; 4) Guidance and science-policy interaction for policy coordination, synchronisation and coherence.
Grounded in the ethics of care and the precautionary principle – and aligned with the One Health approach – this vision embraces a holistic, transdisciplinary perspective. Butterfly explores the deep interconnections between pollinators and the economic, social and cultural systems that depend on pollinators and the biodiversity they support. The project will enhance society’s ability to detect, anticipate and respond to the complex challenges posed by the ongoing loss of pollinators. It will integrate spatial data on a wide range of pollinators – both known and under-recognised – including insects, birds and bats, and the pollination services they provide to wild ecosystems and crops across the EU and beyond.
Through Living Labs – collaborative spaces where ideas are tested in real-world conditions – Butterfly will co-create and test sector-specific visions, strategies and solutions for proactive pollinator restoration. These efforts will lay the foundation for implementing pollinator stewardship across all sectors of society.
Key objectives
Butterfly supports pollinator stewardship to help society address the impacts of pollinator decline on ecosystems, the economy, and human well-being
- Bring together all the knowledge on pollinators and pollination
We provide a clear, up-to-date picture of how pollinators support both wild nature and food crops across Europe and beyond. This includes current data, long-term trends, future risks, and where pollination services are most needed. - Understand and highlight the true value of pollinators
Pollinators contribute to our well-being in ways that go beyond money. We assess both economic and non-economic benefits and work to include these values in national and EU-wide environmental and economic planning. - Explore the economic impacts of pollinator loss
We analyse how the decline of pollinators could affect national economies—now and in the future—and provide insights to guide smarter policies and investments across Europe. - Protect key supply chains that depend on pollinators
From food and medicine to cosmetics, materials and bioenergy, many of our essential products rely on pollinators. We identify where those dependencies are strongest and co-create solutions to make these supply chains more resilient and pollinator-friendly. - Create tools that turn knowledge into action
We design and test practical tools to help farmers, businesses, and decision-makers include pollinator protection in their work. These tools are developed in collaboration with people on the ground, through real-world testing in Living Labs. - Support people-powered change
We explore how social and cultural ideas—like caring for nature, learning from history, and keeping long-term hope alive—can help inspire public action to protect pollinators. We also develop ways to measure this impact. - Build local communities for knowledge-sharing and action
We create networks of farmers, scientists, businesses, and citizens who work together to test ideas, share experiences, and drive change in their regions and beyond. - Collaborate and connect at the European level
We team up with related projects and organisations to amplify impact, influence EU policy, and ensure pollinators remain a top priority for a sustainable future.