Other Legal Acts and Strategies Protecting Biological Diversity

Further legal acts related to the protection of species are Directive 1999/22/EC relating to the keeping of wild animals in zoos/5 which aims to protect wild fauna and to conserve biodiversity by providing for the adoption of measures by Member States for the licensing and inspection of zoos, and Regulation (EC) No 708/2007 concerning use of alien and locally absent species in aquaculture,^{[1] [2]} through which a framework governing aquaculture practices in relation to alien and locally absent species is established.

Also relevant in this context are two regulations focusing on timber imported to the EU, one general and one built around specific agreements with timber-exporting countries. The one of general applicability is Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 laying down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market (‘the Timber Regulation’)/7 It prohibits the placing on the market of illegally harvested timber or timber products derived from such timber and requires operators to exercise due diligence, by means of a framework of procedures and measures, when placing timber or timber products on the market. It also introduces a traceability requirement according to which traders must keep records of their suppliers and customers. The more specific act is Regulation (EC) No 2173/ 2005 on the establishment of a FLEGT licensing scheme for imports of timber into the European Community/⁸ It establishes a set of rules for the import of certain timber products for the purposes of implementing the so-called Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) licensing scheme. The scheme is based on voluntary Partnership Agreements with timber-producing countries and aims to ensure that only timber products which have been produced in accordance with the national legislation of the timber-producing country enter the EU. Timber and timber products covered by valid FLEGT or CITES licences are considered to comply with the requirements of the Timber Regulation.

There is also an EU Forest Strategy, the current version of which was adopted in 2014, which aims to ensure and demonstrate that all forests in the EU are managed according to sustainable forest management principles and that the EU’s contribution to promoting sustainable forest management and reducing deforestation at global level is strengthened by 2020.⁷⁹

• [1] [1999] OJ L 94/24. 76 [2007] OJ L 168/1. 77 [2010] OJ L 295/23.
• [2] 78 [2005] OJ L 347/1.