“A butterfly flaps its wings in the Amazon, and subsequently a storm ravages half of Europe,” is the best way to explain the “butterfly effect”—that small actions could lead to a big impact in the future.
Local butterflies can have the same effect even in the middle of Manila, which remains one of the most polluted cities in the world, ranking 13th in the recent Numbeo pollution index rating.
The city-run Universidad de Manila and the Commission on Higher Education are out to prove that thesis with the winged wonders fluttering about the green spaces of the nation’s capital.
“Manila is not the dirtiest,” said Dr. Alma Nacua, a butterfly expert and project leader on Manila City Butterfly Diversity and Urban Ecosystem Conservation, in a press briefing on Saturday.
Nacua’s research team, with CHED’s help, has been studying butterfly diversity in Manila and how these insects affect the urban setting, a first of its research genre.
“Who knew creatures as small as the butterfly can greatly affect our environment, and possibly solve environmental issues?” she said.
According to the yearlong data they gathered, Nacua’s team says butterflies are “good indicator of environmental changes.” If butterflies continue to thrive in a place, it means it is still healthy, and their ongoing research can pave the way for how Manila could solve its polluted air.
Besides saving these colorful creatures, the research also aims to preserve the green spaces of Manila, which is now down to four — the Arroceros Forest Park, Luneta Park, Manila Zoo, and the Mehan Garden.
These green spaces are not only the last “lungs” left of Manila but also the sanctuary of lovely butterflies, secretly thriving and trying to survive, Nacua said.
Green spaces like the Arroceros Park are home to different host plants that these butterflies feed on, including a threatened species named the Golden Birdwing, she added.
If these parks would be replaced with commercial buildings, it could end the lives of the butterflies, which can have a domino effect on the rest of Manila’s diversity, Nacua added.
The group hopes to make the research sustainable in the future. Once these butterflies are gone, it can create an imbalance in Manila’s diversity, which might not be felt immediately but soon thereafter, they said.
“It will be our greatest dream,” Dr. Nacua said about extending the capability and reach of the research team, which as of now is only focused in Manila.