The Museo delle Scienze (MUSE) in Trento, Italy, has created the Butterfly Forest, a lush greenhouse modeled on Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains, a biodiversity hotspot. The exhibit features plant species endemic to the area and animals from all over the world, including butterflies, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. This project aims to create awareness on MUSE’s research on the world’s biodiversity and how to protect against threats like deforestation and climate change. Research has found that the survival of butterflies, crucial pollinators and indicators of ecosystem health, is affected by environmental factors like deforestation and change in soil and air temperature. The inadequacy of these environmental factors will cause a declining butterfly population as well as habitat loss. MUSE collaborates with the Tanzania National Parks Authority to monitor and conserve butterfly species through habitat restoration and sustainable land management practices, among others.
SOURCE: VOA NEWS
Butterflies Take Flight! Italian Museum Recreates Tanzanian Forest
