Asian Lepidoptera Conservation Symposium Series

a short history

Project Founder & Co-ordinator: Dr. R.C.Kendrick

Mission : Facilitating the conservation of Asian butterflies & moths and the habitats upon which they depend

Challenges

Wildlife conservation, irrespective of the biotic group under consideration, faces lots of tough issues. Asia is the most populous continent, with 4.5 billion people (60% of the global total) in 44.58 million km2 (30% of global land area). Most humans do not care that we are inextricably part of nature, so are not aware that issues like habitat change, climate change and pollution are all linked to food security. Without pollinators (bees get the glory, but butterflies and moths play an important role, too), recyclers (breaking down dead plant and animal matter) and other key ecological roles that Lepidoptera fill, humans would not be able to access fruits, vegetables, fresh water and other valuable ecosystem services.

Understanding

Basic inventorying of species found in a particular place is critical to understanding how the ecosystems funtion. Documentation has been improved as new websites for Asian countries’ butterfly and moth species are coming online. Citizen science portals like iNaturalist have been a great assest to increase awareness and understanding of the critical issues and start tackling the major impediments, like taxonomy, identification, ecology and geographic distribution of species, as well as baseline data about species assemblages in a particular location. ALCS contributors have been part of a global effort to document changes in Lepidoptera assemblages and investigate why these changes are taking place.

Initial Aims (in 2006)

• to assess the current conservation status of Asian Lepidoptera;
• to create and maintain a framework for Lepidoptera conservation in Asia;
• to undertake a practical series of symposia and workshops

  Actions

  To help meet these aims, actions undertaken by ALCS delegates have included:
• undertaking six symposia, with delegates primarily from South, South-east and East Asia, as well as Europe and Australia;
• assisting with practical conservation advice and action at the local level throughout tropical Asia;
• participated in, as leaders and educators, events for raising awareness of the plight of wildlife conservation in Asia;
• published books, scientific papers, websites and Lepidoptera data online (e.g. Moths of India website; iNaturalist projects for moth recording in Asia and many of its countries).
   

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  ALCS #1 - September 2006; Hong Kong

  (First South East Asian Lepidoptera Conservation Symposium)
   

  Organised and hosted by Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden, Tai Po Held at The University of Hong Kong Kadoorie Centre. Key themes: Conservation assessment and strategy Hong Kong Lepidoptera Conservation Butterfly Gardening & Farming Internet Resources for Lepidoptera Conservation

  1st Symposium Agreements & Declaration: Hong Kong Declaration on the Conservation of Lepidoptera Recognising that terrestrial biodiversity is dominated overwhelmingly by the invertebrates, particularly insects and their relatives, and recognising that of all the mega-diverse of insect Orders the butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) are the best understood evolutionarily, ecologically and taxonomically, and noting that the Lepidoptera have a special place in human perception, culture and nature appreciation, the participants in the first South-east Asian Lepidoptera Conservation Symposium recommend as follows: The Lepidoptera be regarded as the target group of choice in any habitat assessment which includes invertebrate biodiversity; Conservation decision-making involving the Lepidoptera should be evidence based involving the best available results of scientific research; Conservation of the Lepidoptera, explicitly, should focus both on individual rare, endangered or vulnerable species (as assessed using the best available research results) AND on entire functional assemblages of butterflies and moths and their habitats in nature.

   

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  ALCS #2 - November 2008

  Organised and hosted by Penang Butterfly Farm, Penang, Malaysia Key Theme Conservation of Lepidoptera through Education and Research Not enough space here to summarise this intense week of Lepidoptera conservation based talks, workshops, posters and field visits. Proceedings can be downloaded from http://www.butterfly-insect.com/alcs2008/alcs-proceedings.html

  ALCS delegates visiting Penang National Park ALCS delegates visited managed mangrove at Matang, Perak

  Penang Butterfly Farm lycaenid larva tended by ants, Matang

   

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  ALCS #3 - October 2010

  Jointly organised by IUCN SSC South Asian Invertebrate Specialist Group (SAsISG), Department of Zoology, Bharathiar University, Zoo Outreach Organisation (ZOO) and Wildlife Information Liaison Development (WILD) Held at Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India Key Theme Local community conservation meeting Asian Lepidoptera conservation needs Focal Areas: investigate the use of iconic / endemic flagship Lepidoptera species to promote habitat conservation through community involvement; assess priority areas / communities for Lepidoptera conservation initiatives at the local level that has global conservation impact; provide tools for species status assessment; train participants in moth and butterfly identification skills explore aspects of moth and butterfly conservation ecology, management and needs; and promote public education featuring these useful and charismatic insects.

   

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  ALCS #4 - June 2012

  Organised and hosted by College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin Key Theme Lepidoptera in changing environments Focal Areas: Responses of Lepidoptera to environmental pressures Protection of rare and endangered Lepidoptera The role and importance of Nature Reserves in protecting endangered Lepidoptera The role of ecotourism in ex situ rearing of endangered Lepidoptera for their conservation Taxonomy & nomenclature of Lepidoptera

   

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  ALCS #5 - December 2018

  Organised and hosted by The University of Hong Kong in collaboration with the Environmental Association (a Hong Kong based environmental non-government organisation that manages Fung Yuen Butterfly Reserve, Tai Po, Hong Kong) Key Theme Impacts of Climate Change on Asian Lepidoptera Focal Areas: Lepidopteran Diversity in Asia The Responses of Lepidoptera to Varying Climate Lepidoptera Conservation Effects of Human Activities on Butterfly Conservation

  LINKS

   

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  ALCS #6 - September 2019

  Organised by Zoological Survey of India in collaboration with The Association of Entomologists (headquartered at the Punjabi Univeristy, Patiala, Punjab, India) Key Themes Lepidoptera Diveristy and its benefits of Mankind Mainstreaming Conservation awareness and Action Content: Field Workshops at Dalma Wildlife Sanctury, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand; 17-19 September 9 Plenary Lectures, 31 Oral Presentations and 49 Poster Presentations; 20-21 September Key Speaker visits to Kolkata Ecopark Butterfly Garden and Sundaban Tiger Reserve   6th ALCS video produced by ZSI	Abstracts booklet cover (hoping to link to the booklet soon)

   

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  ALCS #7 - 9th to 14th November 2026; Thailand

  Organised by C & R Wildlife, Hong Kong. Key Themes Community Conservation of Lepidoptera in Asia Impacts of Light Pollution on Lepidoptera Lepidoptera Ecology: Pollination and Predation Asian Lepidoptera Conservation Action Content: Plenary Lectures, Oral Presentations and Poster Presentations (Chiang Mai, 9th to 11th Nov 2026) Field Workshops (Chiang Dao, 12th to 14th Nov 2026) 1st Announcment:

   

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  Hong Kong Moths homepage

  © R. C. Kendrick, 2026
  page created on 12^th July 2023

  updated 21st January 2026