Accounting for afforestation, reforestation, and deforestation is different than for forest management. For the former, countries can be credited for the net GHG flow from afforestation, reforestation and deforestation in a given year (subject to a cap). If, for example, 100 tons of CO2e are sequestered in year X, then 100 tons are credited in year X (unless the assigned “cap” for a country is below 100 tons). For forest management, however, countries set a “forest management reference level” (FMRL) against which performance is measured. In other words, if the FMRL is “-50 tons” (e.g. a country suggests its business-as-usual scenario is that 50 tons are sequestered annually) and in year X the country measures 100 tons sequestered, it would only get credit for 50 tons.
For the second commitment period Parties are required to propose a methodology for their FMRL following agreed guidelines for submission of information on such reference levels, which are reviewed by Expert Review Teams and subject to a Technical Assessment Report. In 2011, 38 countries submitted country-specific information and data on their proposed FMRL. Methodologies ranged from using historical data (e.g. a base year, base period or extrapolation) to projections using a variety of models. These submissions were assessed by expert review teams, which raised inconsistencies and provided recommendations; several countries revised their FMRL based on the reviews.