EMBRACE

Empowering Skills for Butterfly Monitoring to Enable Resilience to Climate Change

Implementation Period: (01 DEC24 – 30NOV25)

Duration: 12 months

Project Partners:

Open University of Cyprus (Project Leader)
CYENS Center of Excellence, Cyprus
Cyprus Sustainable Tourism Initiative (CSTI)
University of Ioannina, Greece

The kick-off meeting was held successfully on Thursday 30/1/2025 online.

Virtual Butterfly Exhibition

Project Description:

EMBRACE: Enhancing Butterfly Monitoring for Climate Change Resilience

Global insect populations are declining, with butterflies providing some of the clearest evidence. Climate change is a major threat, causing shifts in their distribution, local extinctions, and other ecological impacts. Due to their short life cycles and sensitivity to environmental changes, butterflies serve as key indicators of ecosystem health and early warning signals for biodiversity loss.

The EMBRACE project addresses the urgent need for enhanced butterfly monitoring, particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean, where knowledge and stakeholder involvement remain limited. By empowering citizens, educators, and farmers to actively participate in butterfly monitoring, the project contributes to safeguarding biodiversity and mitigating climate change impacts.

Aligned with EU policies such as the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the EU Pollination Initiative, EMBRACE aims to strengthen climate resilience through education, training, and citizen engagement. Its main objectives include:

Activity 1: Develop an e-learning course on Butterfly Monitoring.

Activity 2: Create an interactive 3D e-museum of butterflies.

Activity 3: Produce a replicable e-package for education and training activities.

Activities 4 & 5: Organize multiplier events in Cyprus and Greece to engage target groups and promote uptake of project outputs.

Through these initiatives, EMBRACE equips VET and adult education providers to deliver impactful training on butterfly monitoring, contributing to evidence-based conservation and climate change resilience in the Mediterranean region.

Funded by the European Union through the ERASMUS+ Key Action 2: Small-scale partnerships, Project Acronym: EMBRACE. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.