Preliminary assessment of the third payment request of Romania (2024)

G9 and TWG-3, the strategy includes increasing the area covered by forest vegetation through the afforestation of land for agricultural purposes and urban and peri-urban areas, as outlined in the study TWG9 (page 9). Specifically, Outcome Objective 6 highlights the goal of increasing the area of forests in urban and peri-urban regions to ensure landscape connectivity, with monitoring indicators including the identification of suitable areas for urban green infrastructure by the end of 2022 and the establishment of urban/peri-urban forests and green corridors. In Annex 1 to the Strategy, SDA7 (page 59) further outlines that urban afforestation must contribute to connectivity with natural or semi-natural areas, supporting the creation of green infrastructure and ecological corridors. Additionally, the Outcome Objective 7.6 (page 30) aims to increase forest areas in urban and peri- urban locations by the end of 2026 to ensure landscape connectivity. f. Requirements for afforestation and reforestation projects to be carried out in areas exposed and vulnerable to climatic hazards, in particular to drought and floods, and where appropriate afforestation or reforestation reduces the resulting risks. SDA7 point (f) provides that afforestation and reforestation projects are to be carried out in areas that are exposed and vulnerable to climate-related hazards, in particular to droughts and floods. It also requires afforestation and/or reforestation projects to reduce the identified risks (page 58). SDA 7.1 aims to identify lands suitable for afforestation in these vulnerable areas by 2024. Achievements include developing a guide for identifying such lands by early 2023 and identifying lands vulnerable to climatic risks suitable for afforestation. Progress by 2023 involves the development of the guide, the establishment of a platform for declaration, reporting, and verification of land eligibility, and the identification of areas (ha) suitable for afforestation. SDA 7.2 focuses on selecting species for afforestation in areas vulnerable to climatic risks by early 2023. Achievements include studying the favourability of woody species for these areas and developing a simplified regulatory framework to promote specific biodiversity and local or adapted provenances of native species. Progress by 2023 includes creating a list of recommended species and their densities for afforestation compositions in these vulnerable areas and developing a best practice guide to encourage the use of multiple species to promote biodiversity. g. The Strategy shall set out sustainability criteria for forest biomass for energy use. SDA3 aims at increasing the contribution of the forestry sector to the economic development of rural communities (pages 52-54). In point (C) on the sustainable production of forest biomass for energy purposes, the following sustainability criteria are set out: (a) energy forest biomass must be produced through sustainable forest management (taking into account at least the continuity of forest existence, the principle of continuity of timber crops, the promotion of natural regeneration and the fundamental natural type of forest, species and habitats diversity, management of deadwood); (b) energy forest biomass must be put on the market in accordance with the principles of cascading use of wood and the circular economy, the waste hierarchy as well as legality in terms of provenance and financing (subsidising); it also requires not to incentivise the development of industrial facilities for the production of energy from forest biomass; (c) the production of energy forest biomass must take into account national and international objectives relating to carbon absorption, soil quality, biodiversity conservation and increased resilience of forest ecosystems; and (d) in the energy use of forest biomass, account must be taken of the requirements of forest- dependent communities, their impact on them, respect for third party rights, respect for working conditions and added value at the level of local communities. h. The Strategy shall include specific actions to tackle illegal logging, such as a full implementation of SUMAL including logging monitoring through remote-sensing, strengthening of the sanctions regime, and other measures as appropriate. SDA2 aims at ensuring transparency and competitiveness in the timber market (pages 51-52). Point (A) of the description of SDA2 in the National Forest Strategy on the traceability and first placing on the market of timber states that SUMAL shall continue to be used and its effectiveness shall be increased through new functions as remote-sensing logging monitoring, strengthening sanctions, calculating the volume of harvested wood, and monitoring its transport to end users. The conceptual model described under point (A) proposes a few coordinates for improving the effectiveness of SUMAL and improving wood traceability after its introduction on the market. Coordinate (a) suggests that forest owners should have the flexibility to choose how they commercialise wood, whether standing or processed, with a regulatory push for public forests to favour selling processed wood. Coordinate (b) proposes that the pre-marking of trees for extraction should be regulated primarily as an internal monitoring tool to ensure correct forestry practices, rather than as a central control mechanism. Coordinate (c) recommends that owners and operators should establish and declare the origin of the wood and ensure its traceability up to its first market introduction. Coordinate (d) specifies that the declaration of wood exploitation should include the location of origin, the estimated volume based on planned silvicultural intervention, the execution timelines, and clearly defined market entry point, including GPS coordinates. Coordinate (e) suggests that the measurement of wood volume at market entry should be conducted by authorized personnel using certified methods, ensuring accuracy and quality assessment. Coordinate (f) calls for a simple and uniform definition of the types of wood products that are introduced to the market within the regulatory framework. Coordinate (g) says that SUMAL should be used to strictly regulate the traceability of wood from its first market introduction to its initial transformation, with measures in place to reduce the risk of unmeasured wood entering the market. Coordinate (h) proposes that SUMAL should issue dedicated documents certifying the origin of wood within the supply chain, linked to the owner's or operator's declaration and the wood materials dispatch notice. Coordinate (i) assigns the responsibility for ensuring traceability beyond the first transformation along the supply chain to the economic operators, which should implement this through their internal procedures. Coordinate (j) recommends that economic operators input information into SUMAL beyond the first transformation to support their due diligence systems for traceability, assist authorities in creating wood market reports, and help evaluate the added value in vertical value chains. Finally, coordinate (k) stresses that SUMAL should ensure transparency in the introduction and circulation of wood on the market, providing public access to relevant data while maintaining the confidentiality of transactions. The measurement indicator for Milestone 167 specifies that an operational system to combat illegal logging should be established by Q4 2024, as detailed in Annex 3 to the Strategy, table 4 (page 71). A land ownership database shall be included into SUMAL by Q4 2024, as required by milestone #167, which will be part of the sixth payment request. The strategic considerations also stress the development of a wood traceability system by 2025, adhering to EUTR and deforestation-free principles. SDA13 outlines the need for innovative tools to support traceability control, such as digital fingerprints, electronic seals, video tools, and remote sensing technologies. More concretely, it aims at ensuring efficiency and transparency of the control of the legality of forestry activities (pages 64- 65). Additionally, integrated IT services for surveillance and monitoring will be implemented as part of the Digital Transformation – Environmental Digitization initiative. The development of an operational monitoring system using satellite imagery will help generate alerts for unauthorised logging activities and verify compliance on the ground. Advanced geospatial analysis platforms, mobile field verification applications, and a webGIS portal will be established to automate the detection of changes in the forest canopy and standardise field checks. The legislative framework also supports efforts against illegal logging, particularly through the revision of the Forestry Code under M24 of the fourth payment request. The draft of the New Forestry Code introduces changes to the criminal sanctions system. This includes the calculation and recovery of damages resulting from illegal logging activities. i. The Strategy shall also include concrete measures for protecting forest habitats and species, and particularly the alignment of forestry norms with biodiversity considerations. Based on the recommendations study TWG 6 (pages 11-13), the Strategy sets forth several outcome objectives for protecting forest habitats and species and aligning forestry norms with biodiversity considerations (page 23-25 of the Strategy). These include updating the legislative framework to integrate biodiversity conservation in forest management by 2024 (Annex 3 of the Strategy, table 1, Outcome Objective 5.1., page 69), developing and implementing good practice guides on biodiversity conservation within two years of updating the Forestry Code (table 2, Outcome Objective 5.2., page 70), and ensuring that 10% of the national forest fund's ecosystems with conservation value are protected by 2030, aligning with European biodiversity objectives (table 4, Outcome Objective 5.3., page 72). Additionally, the strategy includes implementing a financial compensation system for imposed restrictions and disadvantages due to biodiversity conservation regimes from 2025 (table 3, Outcome Objective 5.4., page 71), and establishing a funding system to stimulate the integration of biodiversity conservation in forest management from 2025. Commission Preliminary Assessment: Satisfactorily fulfilled Related Measure: Reform of forest management and governance systems Number: 23 through the development of a new National Forest Strategy and subsequent legislation Name of the Milestone: Entry into force of amended Ministerial Ordinances laying down binding rules for afforestation and reforestation foreseen in the National Forestry Strategy 2020-2030 Qualitative Indicator: Provision in the Ministerial Ordinances indicating the Time: Q3 2022 entry into force of the amendments Context: The objective of reform C2.R1 is to ensure a clear and robust strategic and regulatory framework for the implementation of sustainable forest policies that support climate change mitigation and adaptation. Milestone #23 concerns the entry into force of amended Ministerial Ordinances laying down the binding rules for afforestation and reforestation envisaged by the National Forest Strategy 2020-2030 adopted under milestone #22 (see fiche above). Milestone #23 is the second milestone of the reform, and it follows the completion of milestone #22 (see fiche above) related to the adoption of the National Forest Strategy 2020-2030. It will be followed by milestone #24, related to the entry into force of legal acts amending or supplementing the legislation on forests. The reform has a final expected date for implementation of 30 September 2023. The reform is complemented by investments C2.I1 and C2.I2 with final expected dates for implementation of 30 September 2024. Evidence provided: The following evidence was provided: i. Summary document duly justifying how the milestone (including the relevant elements of the milestone, as listed in the description of milestone and of the corresponding measure in the Council Implementing Decision annex) was satisfactorily fulfilled; ii. Copy of Ministerial Order of the Minister for Water and Forestry No. 1945 of 26 October 2021 amending and supplementing the technical rules for the preparation of forest management plans, amendment of their provisions and change of land use category forestry, approved by Order No. 766/2018 (hereinafter referred to as “Ministerial Order No. 1945/2021”), published in the Official Journal No. 1043 of 1 November 2021, entered into force on the same date. ; iii. Copy of Ministerial Order of the Minister for Water and Forestry No. 2533 of 28 September 2022 accepting the Technical Rules on the compositions, schemes and technologies offering forest regeneration and the afforestation of Degraded lands and of the Guide on the mergers, schemes and technologies offering forest regeneration and the fulfilment of Degraded lands (hereinafter referred to as “Ministerial Order No. 2533/2022”), published in the Official Journal No. 1000 of 14 October 2022;  iv. Copy of Ministerial Order of the Minister for Water and Forestry No. 2534 of 28 September 2022 accepting the Technical Norms on the care and management of tree stands and of the Guide to Good Practice on the Care and Management of Tree Stands (hereinafter referred to as “Ministerial Order No. 2534/2022”), published in the Official Journal No. 989 of 12 October 2022; v. Copy of Ministerial Order of the Minister for Water and Forestry No. 2535 of 28 September 2022 accepting the Technical Rules on the choice and application of penalties and the Guide to Good Practice on the choice and application of communications (hereinafter referred to as “Ministerial Order No. 2535/2022”), published in the Official Journal No. 994 of 13 October 2022; vi. Copy of Ministerial Order of the Minister for Water and Forestry No. 2537 of 28 September 2022 extending the Technical Norms on regeneration of forests and annual control of regeneration and the Guide to Good Practice on forest regeneration and annual monitoring of regeneration (hereinafter referred to as “Ministerial Order No. 2537/2022”), published in the Official Journal No. 995 of 13 October 2022; vii. Copy of Ministerial Order of the Minister for Water and Forestry No. 2536 of 28 September 2022 approving the Technical Rules for forest management and the Guide to Good Practice on Forest Planning (hereinafter referred to as “Ministerial Order No. 2536/2022”), published in the Official Journal No. 999 of 14 October 2022; viii. Copy of Government Decision No. 1227 of 5 October 2022 approving the National Forest Strategy 2020-2030 (hereinafter referred to as “the Strategy”), published in the Official Journal No. 980 of 10 October 2022, with the National Forest Strategy 2020-2030 as the annex to the Government Decision; ix. Copy of Government Emergency Ordinance No. 163 of 29 November 2022 supplementing the legal framework for the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and for the way in which certain legislative acts are defined and supplemented, published in the Official Journal No. 1165 of 6 December 2022. Analysis: The justification and substantiating evidence provided by the Romanian authorities cover all constitutive elements of the milestone. Entry into force of the following amended Ministerial Ordinances (MO) in line with the binding rules for afforestation and reforestation foreseen in the National Forest Strategy 2020-2030: a. Order no. 766/2018 regarding the elaboration and amendment of forest management plans, including of the provisions for land use of forest land, as well as of the Methodology regarding the approval of annual windthrow harvesting quotas. Ministerial Order No. 1945/2021 was approved by the Minister for Water and Forestry on 26 October 2021. It amends and supplements the technical rules for the preparation of forest management plans, and amendment of their provisions and change of land use category forestry, approved by Ministerial Order No. 766/2018. Strategic direction of action (SDA) 5 of the Strategy proposes restrictions on the change of land use categories. Moreover, SDA9 of the Strategy calls for a Forest Register which shall make it possible to differentiate the structure of the information according to criteria such as the nature and size of the property, the form of management, the category of use, the functional category of the forest and the structure of the forest, the protected natural areas. A newly added Article 1.1 specifies the validity of forest management plans, allowing for regeneration, maintenance, harvesting, and infrastructure works during the validity period without needing to amend the forest management plan. Moreover. Article 1(1)(a)(1) has been amended to include details of the forest management plans as responsibilities, streamlining of coordination, distribution by county of the forest area and projects, and works, and actions proposed under the forestry management plan. A forest management map shall show the current status and proposed activities, overlapping with protected species and habitats in Natura 2000 sites. Article 1, point 4 allows various forestry activities to continue during the validity of the forest management plans, ensuring that land use remains consistent with approved plans. Regarding the methodology for the approval of annual windthrow harvesting quotas, Arti