Panaji: In an initiative led by the WWF India, the state’s scientists, photographers and butterfly enthusiasts are preparing to document its rich winged diversity. Six colleges in Goa are also set to take part in this month-long butterfly monitoring exercise under the Big Butterfly Month, a national movement to document butterfly diversity on their campuses and surroundings and contribute data to a citizen-science database.Govt College Quepem, Govt College Sanguem, Carmel College, Chowgule College, Dhempe College and Goa University will participate in the Sep 1-30 programme and upload their observations to iNaturalist platform. The WWF will undertake a similar dragonfly diversity monitoring drive in Oct.“Sep is when butterflies are most active,” said state coordinator WWF-India, Goa, Aditya Kakodkar.The observations will be uploaded to iNaturalist, an open platform where records can be viewed and accessed by others. “Such accumulated observations can help build a picture of the species occurring across Goa and track changes in butterfly diversity over time,” he said.“The campaign is that conserving butterflies is not simply about counting species. It also involves protecting the habitats that allow them to survive in increasingly urbanised landscapes,” he said.The programme will extend beyond educational institutions, with butterfly trails planned for members of the public during Sep.The walks are intended to introduce participants to butterfly identification and observation. The resulting observations will contribute to the larger database of biodiversity records for Goa.Oct will focus on dragonflies, with organisers planning dragonfly monitoring and related activities at prominent wetlands across Goa from Oct 1 to 31.
