1.1. Contact organisation
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union
1.2. Contact organisation unit
E2: Environmental statistics and accounts; sustainable development
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
Joseph Bech building
5, Rue Alphonse Weicker
L-2721 Luxembourg
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
Confidential because of GDPR
1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
30 April 2025
2.2. Metadata last posted
30 April 2025
2.3. Metadata last update
30 April 2025
The indicator is part of the EU Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicator set. It is used to monitor progress towards SDG 15 on protecting, restoring and promoting sustainable use of land which is embedded in the European Commission’s Priorities under 'Sustaining our quality of life: food security, water and nature'.
SDG 15 seeks to protect, restore and promote the conservation and sustainable use of terrestrial, inland-water and mountain ecosystems. This includes efforts to sustainably manage forests and halt deforestation, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, halt biodiversity loss and protect threatened species.
The EU Biodiversity strategy for 2030 aims to restore degraded ecosystems and to halt and reverse the decline of pollinators. The Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive play a central role in achieveing these targets. In June 2018, the European Commission adopted the first-ever EU initiative on pollinators including butterflies. The initiative sets the framework for an integrated approach to address the problem of declining pollinators in the EU and for a more effective use of existing tools and policies.
4.1. Data description
The EU grassland butterfly index integrates the population trends of 17 butterfly species monitored across the EU and is calculated from data from all 27 EU Member States. The start year of national time series ranges from 1990 until 2023, therefore the index is currently presented as an EU aggregate with smoothed values. The data are integrated and provided by the Butterfly Conservation Europe, European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme partnership, EMBRACE project.
4.2. Unit of measure
Index 2000 = 100
4.3. Reference Period
Calendar year.
4.4. Accuracy - overall
Indicator from non-ESS source. For assessment of accuracy please refer to the original source (see link to external data source and metadata in “Annexes”).
4.5. Source data
4.5.1. Source data - Organisation
EEA, BCE (BMS)
4.5.2. Source data - Comment
Data source: Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (BMS).
Data provider: European Environment Agency (EEA), the European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme partnership and the Expanding Monitoring of Butterflies for Restoration And Conservation across Europe 2021-2026 (EMBRACE) project. The methodology and the data points have been published in the technical report:"Van Swaay, C.A.M., Dennis, E.B., Schmucki, R., Sevilleja, C.G., Aghababyan, K., Åström, S., Balalaikins, M., Bonelli, S., Botham, M., Bourn, N., Brereton, T., Cancela, J.P., Carlisle, B., Chambers, P., Collins, S., Dopagne, C., Dziekanska, I., Escobés, R., Faltynek Fric, Z., Feldmann, R., Fernández-García, J.M., Fontaine, B., Goloshchapova, S., Gracianteparaluceta, A., Harpke, A.,Harrower, C., Heliölä, J., Khanamirian, G., Kolev, Z., Komac, B., Krenn, H., Kühn, E., Lang, A., Leopold, P., Lysaght, L., Maes, D., McGowan,D., Mestdagh, X., Middlebrook, I., Monasterio, Y., Monteiro, E., Munguira, M.L., Musche, M., Õunap, E., Ozden, O., Paramo, F., Pavlíčko, A., Pettersson, L.B., Piqueray, J., Prokofev, I., Rákosy, L., Roth, T., Rüdisser, J., Šašić, M., Settele, J., Sielezniew, M., Stefanescu, C., Švitra, G., Szabadfalvi, A., Teixeira, S.M., Tiitsaar, A., Tzirkalli, E., Verovnik, R., Warren, M.S., Wynhoff, I. & Roy, D.B. (2020). Assessing Butterflies in Europe - Butterfly Indicators 1990-2018 Technical report. Butterfly Conservation Europe & ABLE/eBMS (www.butterfly-monitoring.net)"
5.1. Frequency of dissemination
5.1.1. Frequency of dissemination - Grade
Not Applicable5.1.2. Frequency of dissemination - Comment
Update frequency unknown.
5.2. Timeliness
5.2.1. Timeliness - Grade
> T+2 years5.2.2. Timeliness - Comment
New data points are disseminated within 3 years after the reference year.
6.1. Reference area
6.1.1. Reference Area - Grade
Only EU aggregate6.1.2. Reference Area - Comment
Only data for EU aggregates are presented. The EU aggregate is calculated using data from 27 EU Member States. The start year of national time series ranges from 1990 until 2023.
6.2. Comparability - geographical
6.2.1. Comparability - geographical - Grade
Not Applicable6.2.2. Comparability - geographical - Comment
Only EU aggregate
6.3. Coverage - Time
6.3.1. Time Coverage - Grade
> 10 years6.3.2. Time Coverage - Comment
Time series starts in 1991.
6.4. Comparability - over time
6.4.1. Comparability - over time - Grade
> 4 data points6.4.2. Comparability - over time - Comment
Length of comparable time series without methodological break is longer than 4 data points.
7.1. Dissemination format - Publications
Analysis of indicator is presented in Eurostat's annual monitoring report on Sustainable development in the EU (progress towards SDGs in the EU context).
7.2. Dissemination format - online database
See table sdg_15_61
7.3. Dissemination format - other
Eurostat dedicated section on SDGs: overview.
Copyrights: Eurostat Copyright/Licence Policy is applicable.
