According to Art. 75 I (3) of the German Constitution, the legislative powers for enacting laws protecting nature lies at the federal level, but it is limited to framework provisions. Thus, if the BNatSchG is to be neutral with respect to the sections mentioned in  § 11 1, this code does not have direct effect, but has to be implemented by state legislation. Direct effect according to § 11 1 is granted, for instance, for the rules concerning species protection, the FFH directive and the penal law.

The states must convert those guidelines into their respective law systems by 4-4-2005. Although they enjoy certain discretion in implementation, their obligation of loyalty to the federation forbids them from altering the basic intention of the federal legislative powers.