The metropolitan Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (mBMS) is a citizen science project to obtain data on butterfly populations in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. The project is based on the participation of volunteers who visit selected parks and beaches every two weeks. With this information, the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB) can implement strategies to improve the abundance and diversity of this important group of insects.
Cities and their metropolitan areas will play an increasingly important role in the conservation of biodiversity at the local and regional level. We are witnessing a conceptual change in urban areas that is promoting the maintenance and recovery of viable ecosystems for the conservation and improvement of biodiversity and associated ecosystem functions.
Butterflies are, along with birds and bats, bioindicators of environmental change recognized by the European Union. They are particularly sensitive to the various factors of global change, and on the other hand, they are visually attractive and relatively easy to study, which makes them very popular among amateur and professional naturalists. All this makes them particularly suitable as the target of citizen science projects aimed at awakening interest in the study and conservation of biodiversity.
In 2019, the metropolitan Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (mBMS) was born, which seeks to improve knowledge of the contribution of urban and peri-urban areas to the conservation of butterfly biodiversity and the population trends of the various species in these areas, focusing on transitional spaces between natural and agricultural areas and the city: metropolitan parks and beaches.
The mBMS is promoted by the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB), with the coordination of CREAF and the Metròpoli Institute.