A butterfly fair is being held at Jahangirnagar University (JU) to raise awareness of butterfly conservation. The day-long fair will take place on 2 December.
JU's Department of Zoology has organised the unusual fair every year since 2010 under the slogan "When butterflies fly in the sky, nature finds new momentum".
Professor Dr Md Monwar Hossain of the university's zoology department, convener of the fair, confirmed this to Jago News on Tuesday 8 November.
"We have been holding the butterfly fair since 2010 to raise awareness among children and teenagers about protecting butterflies and biodiversity. This year it will be held on 2 December. The fair will include a debate competition on butterflies, flying butterfly-shaped kites, documentary screenings and a quiz competition," Professor Monwar Hossain said.
Species numbers falling
Noting that 110 species of butterfly were seen at Jahangirnagar University in 2010, the professor said: "That number is falling day by day, and butterflies are now in a very critical state. At present there are 55-60 species here."
The relationship between butterflies and nature is undeniable, he said: if there are butterflies, there will be nature and trees.
Every year the fair has a live butterfly exhibition. Professor Monwar Hossain said butterflies are declining and children living urban lives do not get to see them. "We are very worried whether we will be able to show them live butterflies any more. We will try to keep some butterflies in a butterfly hut (a special enclosure for live butterflies) at the fair, but this will not be very possible compared with other years. We will also try to show butterflies made of paper, shola and cloth, and origami, so that we can tell children this is a butterfly and we must be aware in order to preserve it."
On awards, he said the fair gives the "Butterfly Award" to those who have worked on butterfly conservation and biodiversity protection. Young people working on butterflies, photographing them, producing publications about them and, above all, working to conserve biodiversity will be given the "Young Enthusiast Award".
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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