Sweden introduces new national species protection regulations

The Swedish government has announced new regulations for national species protection, set to take effect on November 1. These changes specifically target species protected solely under Swedish law and do not apply to species already covered by EU species and habitat directives, such as birds.

Under the new system, nationally protected species will be categorized into four classes based on their threat level according to the Red List:

• Strict protection: Applies to critically endangered (CR) species. This provides the strongest level of protection, significantly complicating land use such as forestry. • Enhanced protection: Applies to endangered (EN) species, requiring continued consideration during land use. • Basic protection: Aimed at species at risk from individual actions like picking. Forestry is granted a general exemption, meaning no species-specific consideration is required. • Limited protection: Also includes a general exemption for forestry.

For the forestry sector, a notable change involves the orchid knärot. Previously requiring special consideration in certain contexts, it will now fall into a category where forestry has a general exemption. While the orchid remains listed as vulnerable (VU) on the Red List, formal requirements for species-specific consideration due to its protected status will be removed.