Unplanned development endangers the future of the butterfly sanctuary at JU

Md. Ahsan Habib, Correspondent,JU: For over a decade, the annual “Butterfly Fair” at Jahangirnagar University (JU) has been a vibrant celebration of life, drawing hundreds of visitors each winter. It was a living classroom where children could see a Tailed Jay or a Common Mormon up close, learning firsthand about the delicate web of life. Founded in 2010 as a conservation awareness programme, the fair was proof of JU’s cherished identity as a “green campus”, a place where education and nature coexisted.

That sanctuary was built on a complex ecosystem, home to over 50 species of wild nectar-producing plants, such as Kutus kanta and Jhumkalata. This flora supported one of the country’s most diverse butterfly populations, attracting researchers and students.

However, that identity is under existential threat. The sanctuary is collapsing. A decade ago, the campus was a biodiversity hotspot, home to over 110 butterfly species. Today, that number has plummeted. Studies from 2021 through 2023 confirm a devastating decline to just 72 species. The 40% decline represents a significant ecological alarm rather than a gradual deterioration.

The cause is the ongoing, unpredictable expansion of concrete. A detailed land-use study reveals the damage: over the past few decades, the campus has lost 40% of its waterbodies and 26.5% of its green spaces. Instead, the built-up area has grown by 159%, turning 172 acres of irreplaceable habitat into infrastructure.

This rapid growth is a betrayal of the university’s founding vision. The 1968 master plan, by architect Mazharul Islam, demanded a campus in harmony with nature. This act is not just poor planning; it is a profound cultural betrayal. Mazharul Islam’s vision was of a “garden university”, where red-brick buildings would sit within the forest, not erase it. A logic of convenience has replaced that philosophy of coexistence.

Academics from the university have meticulously documented this. Professor Dr Md Monwar Hossain, founder of JU’s Butterfly Park and Research Centre (BPRC) and a lead assessor for the IUCN’s Red List of Bangladesh, has monitored this decline for years. His warning is a professional diagnosis: “The decline in butterfly populations is not just a loss of beauty,” says Dr Hossain, “it is a clear sign that something is deeply wrong with our environment.”

Butterflies are renowned bio-indicators. Their acute sensitivity to change makes them the ideal measure of ecosystem health, and JU’s ecosystem is clearly deteriorating.

A pioneering study conducted by researchers at JU in 2025 clarifies the reasons for this deterioration. The team, including Shraboni Das, Muntahena Ruhi, and Dr Hossain, used DNA barcoding to identify 107 “larval host plants” on campus. These plants are the only food source for their caterpillars. Without these host plants, the butterfly's life cycle breaks. The study found that 12 of these plants are essential for most butterfly species, but they are vanishing. Only two of the ten surveyed sites contained the critical host, Capparis zeylanica (Ashari Lata), according to researchers.

Careless tree-cutting has shattered a once-vast, interconnected habitat. The campus is now fragmented into “islands” of green, preventing butterflies from finding food and reproducing. Meanwhile, adult butterflies are starving as ornamental exotic plants replace native nectar plants.

Climate change is worsening this. Excessive rainfall this year, for example, has broken butterflies’ wings. Prolonged rain deprives them of essential sunlight, further reducing their population. This weakened ecosystem is now dangerously vulnerable to new climate shocks.

The institution is not the only one facing this issue. As a prominent university, JU bears a moral obligation to set a positive example. Losing its biodiversity sends a terrible message that conservation is a luxury rather than a necessity. For a nation on the front lines of the climate crisis, this failure to protect nature sends a dangerous message.

Jahangirnagar University is at a pivotal moment. It can restore its legacy or continue down this path. The administration must take immediate, decisive action.

The solutions are clear. First, JU must suspend all unplanned developments and commission a new, binding master plan focused on environmental sustainability, with clear development restrictions. Second, this plan must identify and legally safeguard “wildlife reserves” throughout the campus, centred on the remaining hosts and nectar plant hotspots. Third, the university must actively engage in habitat restoration. This means systematically removing invasive species and reintroducing native larval host plants, such as Butea monosperma (Palash). Finally, the administration must launch a campus-wide public awareness campaign to engage the entire university community in this effort.

The loss of butterflies in Jahangirnagar is tragic, but it is not yet an epitaph. The same research that raises the alarm also provides a roadmap for recovery. The expertise and passion are still there.

Jahangirnagar University has long served as a symbol of Bangladesh’s natural heritage. It must now decide whether to be remembered as the generation that sacrificed a paradise or the one that protected it. By preserving its butterflies, JU can save more than just an insect. It can save its soul. By proving that development and nature can coexist, it can become a true leader for the nation.