New Developments in Assessing Forest Ecosystem Services in Romania

Economic assessment of forest ecosystems is especially important for determining efficiency of investment in: biodiversity conservation, expansion of the national forest and rational use of forest resources, sustainable forest development. In Romania, although discussed and debated in recent years, this subject has generated and still produces theoretical, methodological and practical issues. Economic and social consequences of changes in forest ecosystems are difficult to predict. Changes in the dynamics of river basins, ecologic regions or wildlife systems, for example, can reduce or increase various aspects of human welfare. Without sufficient knowledge about the value of forest ecosystem services, consequences unpredictability tends to increase with the degree of change. This paper will address some issues related to estimating the economic value of forests in Romania and ecosystem services provided by forests. The methodology used includes: clarifying and defining the main methodological and operational concepts, charts and diagrams to describe correlations and mechanisms of forest functions, qualitative and quantitative assessment (tables, matrices) of ecosystem services, with identification of the most important benefits, analysis of main methods of economic assessment of forest ecosystem services with recommendations and conclusions.