Common bird and butterfly populations across the EU have fallen since 2000.
The population of common bird species was 15.1% lower in 2024 than in 2000, Eurostat disclosed on Friday.
Common farmland bird species recorded a bigger drop over the same period, down 32.1%.
Eurostat also reported that populations of common forest bird species “slowly started to recover” from 2010.
Grassland butterflies down by more than a third
Butterfly populations on grassland — measured using an index tracking the abundance of 17 grassland butterfly species — declined by 36.5% in 2024 compared with 2000, Eurostat said.
The statistics agency said it uses the common bird index and the grassland butterfly index to monitor biodiversity as part of tracking progress on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 15, known as “life on land”.
Eurostat published the figures for the International Day for Biological Diversity, which is marked annually on 22 May.
