About the MoFAI
The MoFAI is a groundbreaking initiative to provide a comprehensive and innovative legal blueprint for legislators, policymakers, and other stakeholders in designing a modern legal framework for the protection, conservation, restoration, and ecologically sustainable management and use of forests, with a particular focus on native forests and vegetation. It uses a systematic, interdisciplinary, multistakeholder, and evidence-informed approach to design a model legislative text that can be applied and tailored to country-specific contexts and needs.
MoFAI Objectives
- Tackling 21st century challenges such as deforestation, biodiversity loss, and climate change
- Overcoming the ethical and legal disconnect in outdated forest laws
- Aligning national and local laws with international instruments and modern environmental principles
- Helping to address the implementation gap by improving the scientific soundness and technical adequacy of forest laws
- Providing a governance design that takes into consideration multiple actors, resources, and convergence of the rights and duties of stakeholders
- Fostering harmonization of legal frameworks for the conservation and ecologically sustainable management of forests, especially in critical biomes such as the Amazon, the Congo Basin, and the Indo-Malayan region
The Development Process
MoFAI Outcomes
Through the General Part of the Model Forest Act and accompanying Legislative Guide, interested stakeholders will be able to identify areas to prioritize, based on unique circumstances and challenges faced in each region of the world and each jurisdiction.
Initial Stage (2023–2025): The General Part of the Model Forest Act
The MoFAI’s initial stage focuses on developing the General Part of the Model Forest Act and its accompanying Legislative Guide. The General Part draws from, but is not limited to, existing legislative examples from different legal systems, including civil and common law, as well as customary law, international treaties and soft law instruments, and other norms and legal realities. It will include state-of-the art provisions from around the world. The General Part also seeks to advance and improve forest law by seizing the opportunities provided by new scientific and technological developments.
Building Blocks of the General Part of the Model Forest Act
"MOFAI is such an important initiative, especially for the Philippines…It ensures biodiversity protection and of course sequestration of carbon. It's very important for not only the benefit of the environment, but also for the communities that are very vulnerable to the impacts of climate change."
Rose-Liza Eisma-Osorio, Legal and Policy Director, Oceana Philippines
"The Model Forest Act Initiative is an important opportunity to enable stakeholders to take a hard look into existing laws and policies, enforcement efforts and gaps in relation to forestry and the value of the forest in terms of food security, in terms of climate change, terms of good health, survival of the people of this world is very, very important."
Gerthie Mayo-Anda Executive Director, Environmental Legal Assistance Center
MoFAI In Action
