The Twenty-sixth Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) convened on 7 October 2004 in Yangon, Myanmar, during which Ministers exchanged views on the global and regional situation and recent economic developments related to the food, agriculture and forestry sector.

During the opening session, Myanmar’s Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt said agricultural expansion, urbanization and demand for fuel results in the deforestation of about 37,310 acres annually, but that the Forest Department has planted trees on 74,130 acres annually since 1972 and the government recently launched a programme to conserve the country’s teak forest in the central Bago Yoma region. An ENN press release on the meeting notes that an October 2003 report by Global Witness said the government and rebel groups in border areas were cutting down trees at an unsustainable rate.
The Ministers endorsed the Statement from the “Seminar on ASEAN-Japan Cooperation for Sustainable Fisheries through the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC),” which was held on 3-5 December 2003, Tokyo, Japan, including the ASEAN Vision: “To be a leader in Sustainable Tropical Fisheries for the People,” and agreed that ASEAN-Japan cooperation in fisheries through SEAFDEC should be further strengthened. In support of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals and in recognition of the International Year of Rice 2004, the Ministers endorsed a ten year, three point plan focussing on the rice production challenges of water scarcity, global warming and inadequate human resources. The Ministers also endorsed the ASEAN statement on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to develop regional solutions to implement CITES, which was presented to the 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES on 11 October 2004 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Links to further information
Joint Press Statement, 7 October 2004
Myanmar leader says more than half of country is forested, despite concerns about deforestation, ENN, 8 November 2004
Global Witness’ “A Conflict of Interest: The Uncertain Future of Burma’s Forests”