20 October 2011: The UNFCCC Secretariat has published the report of the technical assessment of the forest management reference level (FMRL) submission of Romania (FCCC/TAR/2011/ROU). The Expert Review Team (ERT) noted that Romania has calculated its FMRL on a transparent basis, adequate for consideration by the Conference of the Parties (COP).

Romanian forest land has historically been a net sink of greenhouse gases (GHGs) owing to its low deforestation rate. The ERT, however, notes the uncertainty regarding the future harvesting rate due to potential infrastructure developments and the possibility of more favorable prices for wood in the future. These could increase the harvesting rate which, considering the sensitivity of the FMRL to this particular information, might lead to less reliable estimates of the FMRL.

The recommendations from the ERT include: making technical corrections to the FMRL after agreement is reached on the treatment of harvested wood products (HWP) in the construction of the reference level or if higher-tier approaches are used, to estimate dead organic matter, soil organic matter and other GHG sources; carrying out technical corrections when updated modelled results based on the new GHG inventory become available; and providing information on the age-class distribution of forests since they impact future net emissions from forest management. [Publication: Report of the Technical Assessment of the Forest Management Reference Level Submission of Romania Submitted in 2011]