The European Commission launched two public consultations on Tuesday 5 October to step up the EU’s fight against the trafficking of endangered wildlife - a criminal and lucrative business that contributes to the decline of biodiversity, threatens the livelihoods of local communities, undermines the rule of law and poses public health risks.
The first consultation concerns the evaluation of the EU Action Plan adopted in 2016 to curb this criminal traffic (see EUROPE 11577/12, 11500/7). This ‘REFIT’ evaluation aims to establish a ‘fitness check’ of the action plan to see if it has met its objectives. The exercise will determine what impact this action plan has had on curbing wildlife trafficking and whether it has helped to complement the efforts of EU Member States.
The second consultation concerns the roadmap for the review of this action plan - an initiative scheduled for the second quarter of 2022, as part of the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.
Comments from all interested parties will be published on the Commission’s website and taken into account in the preparation of this initiative.
Both consultations are open for comment until midnight Brussels time on 28 December.
To access the consultation on the action plan: https://bit.ly/3DdYx0c
Consultation for its revision: https://bit.ly/3ovtV6d (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)