National Action Plan for Butterflies
Have you ever heard of National Action Plans (PNA)? These are initiatives aimed at protecting endangered animal and plant species or those of particular interest in France.
One of these plans focuses specifically on butterflies and lists 38 priority species, including the Diana and the Hermit! Butterflies play an important role in ecosystems by contributing to the balance of food chains and pollination. They are also bioindicators, meaning that their presence and diversity are characteristic of a preserved natural environment. Despite this, their populations are in decline, particularly grassland butterflies, whose numbers have fallen by nearly 40% since the 1990s.
The NAP for butterflies ensures the maintenance or restoration of butterfly populations in a favorable state of conservation. It runs from 2018 to 2028 and is based on three main areas:
- improving knowledge,
- implementing management and conservation actions,
- and raising public awareness of butterfly protection.
From January 14 to 15, 2025, around 100 stakeholders from across the country—including nature conservatories, regional nature parks, and the French Office for Biodiversity—gathered in Paris for a national seminar to take stock of the action plan’s progress halfway through its term. The program included a review of the actions carried out to date, prospects for the coming years, feedback on various experiences, and participatory workshops on the implementation of the action plan. Some actions have been implemented at the regional level, including the production of a regional inventory of protected sites. The PNA has also enabled the development of scientific studies and inventories, including the drafting of regional red lists for endangered species, the design of projects to determine the life traits of poorly known species, and the establishment of temporal monitoring of species. At the same time, awareness-raising actions have been carried out through the creation of communication materials and the implementation of professional training courses.
This national seminar provided A Rocha with an opportunity to present the initial findings of its study on the Hermit Crab conducted at the Domaine des Courmettes in southeastern France. And the good news is that a detailed raport will be released in 2025 to share these findings with you and reveal the next steps in the study!
National Action Plan for Dragonflies
A Rocha France is also involved in the National Action Plan for Dragonflies.
As part of this NAP, six short films have been produced by the OPIE association in the Hauts-de-France region and are now available. These immersive videos offer a unique insight into the world of dragonflies, highlighting:
- their fascinating life cycle, from aquatic larva to spectacular flying insect;
- the threats to their future: disappearance of wetlands, pollution, climate change, etc.;
- the concrete actions being taken to ensure their preservation.
Click here to access the videos on OPIE’s YouTube channel.