ADB's MoFAI Accelerates the Work of Its Technical Working Group

The Model Forest Act Initiative (MoFAI) made significant progress in drafting during its Technical Working Group (TWG) meetings in Manila, Philippines on 16–19 February 2026. Chaired by Chief Justice Antonio Herman Benjamin of the National High Court of Brazil (STJ), the TWG integrated inputs from MoFAI’s drafting committee members, the Advisory Council, and partners; identified gaps and strengthened existing elements of the text; and developed or sharpened provisions on climate change, bioeconomy, monitoring and reporting, and international cooperation. The group also stress-tested and refined key elements of the Model Framework Forest Act, improved coherence across its constituent provisions, advanced a dedicated chapter on definitions to capture and operationalize core concepts, and set out a program of work toward the launch of the Act and the Legislative Guide Executive Summary at the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17), to be held in Armenia in October 2026.