Saturday, 13 September 2025
Bristol, 12 September 2025. Yesterday, during the Wild Summit event, the UK’s leading insect conservation charities supported by organisations, institutions, and community representatives issued a united Declaration on UK Insect Declines, calling for urgent, coordinated action to address the steep and ongoing losses in the United Kingdom’s insect populations. The declaration, proposed by Buglife, Butterfly […]
Bristol, 12 September 2025.
Yesterday, during the Wild Summit event, the UK’s leading insect conservation charities supported by organisations, institutions, and community representatives issued a united Declaration on UK Insect Declines, calling for urgent, coordinated action to address the steep and ongoing losses in the United Kingdom’s insect populations.
The declaration, proposed by Buglife, Butterfly Conservation and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, and supported by over 50 signatories, urges governments, land managers, businesses, and the public to take immediate steps to reverse declines in insect abundance, diversity, and distribution. It calls for widespread restoration of insect-rich habitats, bold reductions in pesticide and pollutant use, stronger legal protections, and major investment in research, monitoring, and public engagement.
“Reversing insect decline is essential, not optional,” the declaration states, “for halting nature loss
and achieving the UK’s climate and biodiversity goals.”
Insects are essential to ecosystem functioning they pollinate crops and wild plants, recycle nutrients, maintain healthy soils, control pests, and form the base of the food web for birds, bats, fish, and other wildlife. However, a growing body of scientific evidence shows the UK’s insects are in serious trouble:
Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count results from this year revealed butterflies were only seen in average numbers, despite the near perfect weather conditions for the insects. The sunniest spring and hottest summer on record did little to reverse the long-term decline for butterflies and the 15-year Big Butterfly Count trends show that more than twice as many widespread species have declined significantly than have increased.
The number of flying insects sampled on vehicle number plates, across the UK, has fallen by a staggering 63% since 2021, according to the Bugs Matter survey, conducted by Buglife and Kent Wildlife Trust.
The latest findings from BeeWalk, the national bumblebee monitoring scheme run by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, revealed that 2024 was the worst year for bumblebees since records began. Across Great Britain, bumblebee numbers declined by almost a quarter (22.5%) compared to the 2010-2023 average.
The signatories of the declaration affirm that the decline of insects in the UK is driven by a combination of well-documented pressures: habitat loss and fragmentation, pesticide and chemical use, intensive farming practices, pollution, climate change, and invasive species. These factors are pushing many insect species toward extinction thresholds and undermining the resilience of ecosystems vital to human well-being.
The declaration calls for:
Restoration and reconnection of insect-rich habitats across farmland, towns and cities, freshwater systems, and protected sites; Legally enforced reductions in pesticide use and other pollutants; Legal safeguards for key insect species and their habitats; Increased investment in ecological monitoring, scientific research, and public education.
The declaration concludes with a challenge and an invitation:
“The UK must become a world leader in insect recovery. We call for a national, cross-sector response equal to the scale of the crisis, grounded in scientific evidence and public accountability. We invite organisations across the UK and beyond to endorse this declaration and help forge a future where insects thrive once more.”
As part of the Wild Summit, a side event led by Butterfly Conservation launched the Big Insect Rescue Plan, where expert panellists discussed the insect decline crisis and the steps that could and should be taken to restore and sustain insect populations. The Plan is set to engage audiences in being part of the journey to saving insects, contributing towards a shared vision of what urgent, active insect recovery looks like in the UK.
Craig Macadam, Co-Leader & Conservation Director, Buglife says:
“This declaration represents a watershed moment for UK invertebrate conservation. After years of documenting alarming declines, we are pleased to have the unified voice and commitment from across the environment sector that these vital creatures desperately need. The widespread support for this declaration shows we’re moving beyond debating whether there’s a crisis to taking decisive action to address it. Insects underpin our food security, keep waters clean, and support entire ecosystems. This declaration gives us the mandate and momentum to implement the large-scale changes that can reverse these devastating trends. We cannot afford to keep losing generations of pollinators and decomposers, the time for action is now.”
Julie Williams, Chief Executive Officer, Butterfly Conservation, said:
“Until we take action to improve the health or our environment by restoring habitat and reducing pesticide use, we will never see a great recovery in our insect population. We know what needs to be done and have the evidence to prove it works. We must now work together, across all sectors, to make the changes needed for our insects to thrive.”
Gill Perkins, Chief Executive Officer, Bumblebee Conservation Trust said:
“Our precious insect populations are in trouble, and with them, so are we. But there is hope. This declaration sends a strong message to decision makers across the UK that the time for action is now. There are things we can all do – from individual micro-actions like growing more bee-friendly flowers, to the bigger changes we rely on governments to deliver, such as phasing out pesticide use in our villages, towns and cities, and reversing the tragic loss of vital habitats like meadows and hedgerows. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is proud to stand behind this call for urgent, coordinated action to halt and reverse insect declines.”
Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said:
“When insects disappear, nature is sending us a warning. Whether it’s the pollination services provided by bees and butterflies, the joy of bug-collecting, or their importance in the food chain, insects may be tiny but they are hugely important. That’s why it’s so significant that nature-lovers of every stripe – from bird watchers to rewilders – have come together at the inaugural Wild Summit to make the Bristol Declaration on UK Insect Declines. We’re calling on Government to take the big actions needed to reverse insect declines, from chemical pollution reduction to habitat restoration, for the sake of all wildlife and a prosperous future”.
Notes to editors
A full copy of The Bristol Declaration on the UK insect decline crisis can be found here:
www.buglife.org.uk/campaigns/the-bristol-declaration/
A concise list of supporting evidence can be found here: https://cdn.buglife.org.uk/downloads/The
Bristol-Declaration-on-UK-Insect-Declines-Supporting-Evidence-September-2025.pdf
About Buglife
Buglife is the only organisation in Europe devoted to the conservation of all invertebrates our aim is to halt the extinction of invertebrate species and to achieve sustainable populations of invertebrates. Invertebrates are vitally important to a healthy planet – humans and other life forms could not survive without them. The food we eat, the fish we catch, the birds we see, the flowers we smell and the hum of life we hear, simply would not exist without bugs. Invertebrates underpin life on earth and without them the world’s ecosystems would collapse. www.buglife.org.uk
About Butterfly Conservation
Butterfly Conservation is the UK charity dedicated to saving butterflies, moths and our environment. Our research provides advice on how to conserve and restore habitats. We run projects to protect more than 100 threatened species, and we are involved in conserving hundreds of sites and reserves. www.butterfly-conservation.org @savebutterflies
About the Bumblebee Conservation Trust
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is a UK based charity that was established in 2006 due to serious concerns about the ‘plight of the bumblebee’. In the last century many bumblebee populations have crashed, and two species have become extinct in the UK. www.bumblebeeconservation.org BeeWalk is the Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s national recording scheme to monitor the abundance of bumblebees across the UK and detect early warning signs of population declines.
https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/BeeWalk-Annual-Report
2025-03.25.pdf
About the Wild Summit
The Wild Summit 2025, will bring together leading voices in conservation, politics, farming, and business to set out an urgent rescue plan for nature, ensuring that the UK makes good on its nature commitments. The day will feature keynotes from, Special Representative for Nature, Ruth Davis, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Natural England Chair, Tony Juniper, and Director General of the National Trust, Hilary McGrady. https://www.wcl.org.uk/wildsummituk.asp
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