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

f. Order no. 1672/2000 regarding the approval of the Technical Norms for forest management

Ministerial Order No. 2536/2022 was approved by the Minister for Water and Forestry on 28 September 2022. It approves the technical rules for forest management and the Guide to Good Practice on Forest Planning. It includes methodologies and practices for forest planning, which are designed to ensure the continuity of forest ecosystems, the protection of biodiversity, and the sustainable production of forest resources. These objectives are in line with the National Forest Strategy's vision of ensuring that Romania's forests are healthy, resilient, and diverse, managed through appropriate instruments tailored to the needs for the continued provision of vital ecosystem services, sustainable wood production, and the protection of valuable forest ecosystems, as set out for example under SDA6 in the Strategy: “Adequate management for the stability of forest ecosystems”. Articles 25 to 27 of Ministerial Order No. 2536/2022 include binding rules for biodiversity protection through defining which type of works are allowed in which types of forest, and rules to ensure the conservation of biological diversity as listed in point (i) of the description of

milestone #22 sets out concrete measures for protecting forest habitats and species, and particularly the alignment of forestry norms with biodiversity considerations. Article 4 of Ministerial Order No. 2536/2022 provides that with its entry into force Ministerial Order No. 1672/2000 ceased to apply. Ministerial Order No. 2536/2022 was published in the Official Journal No. 999 on 14 October 2022 and entered into force on the same date, according to the provisions of Article 12(3) of Law No. 24/2000 on legislative technique rules for drafting legal acts.

Furthermore, in line with the description of the measure, the reform shall consist of the following actions: (3) Adoption and entry into force of amended Ministerial Ordinances laying down the binding rules for afforestation and reforestation foreseen in the National Forest Strategy 2020- 2030 adopted under (2) (by 30 September 2022)

Point (g) of the description of milestone #22 states that the Strategy shall set out sustainability criteria for forest biomass for energy use. SDA3 also requires setting out criteria, such as: “Forest biomass intended for energy purposes must be produced through sustainable forest management, which must at least consider the continuity of forest existence, the principle of continuous wood harvesting, the promotion of natural regeneration and the fundamental natural forest type, species diversity, and the management of deadwood” (point C, page 53 of the Strategy). Article 29(6-13) of Government Emergency Ordinance No. 163/2022 sets out the sustainability criteria of forest biomass for energy use.

Point (h) of the description of milestone #22 states that 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 of the Strategy, which focuses on ensuring transparency and competitiveness in the wood market, states that the SUMAL system will continue to be used, with ongoing efforts to increase its effectiveness, and sets out a series of principles for improving the regulatory framework. SUMAL is currently used and will be extended in its functionality under milestone #167, which will be part of the sixth payment request. Other measures, as explained in the previous assessment fiche for milestone #22, such as timber monitoring, improved control of forest management and modification of the legal framework for sanction will be included into the New Forestry Code under milestone #24, which will be part of the fourth payment request.

The Council Implementing Decision required the adoption of the National Forest Strategy 2020-2030 by 30 September 2022. The National Forest Strategy entered into force on 5 October 2022, as evidenced by Government Decision No. 1227/2022. Whilst this constitutes a minimal substantive