ADB's MoFAI Convenes First Partners and Advisory Council Meeting

The Model Forest Act Initiative (MoFAI) convened its first Partners and Advisory Council Meeting on 2 December 2025, bringing together the Executive Board, Advisory Council, Drafting Committee, and Secretariat. 

Participants reaffirmed MoFAI's "shopping cart" approach—a modular design that allows countries to select and adapt foundational principles, rights and duties, and implementation and enforcement provisions that align with their national legal systems and priorities, rather than adopting the Act wholesale. 

Participants also advised on next steps, including refining the Act’s preamble and principles; reviewing environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) provisions in light of the International Court of Justice's 2025 climate advisory opinion; addressing bioeconomy-driven wood demand, including the role of planted and secondary forests; and strengthening integrity and anti-corruption safeguards. Partners further highlighted MoFAI’s Legislative Guide as central to country application, notably to guide peer review, collaboration, and the provision of a framework for the interpretation and implementation of the Act’s provisions.