Nairobi, 16 August 2022 (TDI): The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) commemorated five years of the Minamata Convention since its entry into force in 2017. Although the convention itself is young, it builds on a long history of scientific efforts to understand and manage the risk of mercury, a toxic substance for human health and the environment.
Today marks the 5th anniversary of @minamatamea! It is a global treaty to protect human health & the environment from the adverse effects of mercury. Nations must work together to #MakeMercuryHistory.https://t.co/H2u5rFHU9g pic.twitter.com/AGwvN7sjov
— UN Environment Programme (@UNEP) August 16, 2022
The Minamata Convention
The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury. The Convention draws attention to a global and naturally occurring metal that has broad uses in everyday objects. It is also released into the atmosphere, soil and water from a variety of sources.
Therefore, controlling the anthropogenic releases of mercury throughout its lifecycle has been a key factor in shaping the obligations under the convention. The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in Geneva in 2013 agreed upon the Convention. It entered into force in 2017.
Moreover, Minamata Bay in Japan inspired the name of the Convention. It remembers the lessons of the tragic health damage by industrial mercury pollution in the 1950s and 1960s in Japan. The UNEP administers the agreement which has 137 parties.
The 15th ICMGP
In 1990, researchers organized the first meeting of the International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP). ICMGP has since then organized 15 meetings and has published synthesis papers as a scientific input to policymaking.
The 15th ICMGP was held in July 2022 under the theme, “Reducing mercury emissions to achieve a greener world.” This online event included leading scientists and young scholars from multiple disciplines. They explored the global challenges posed by mercury. It subsequently helped in the implementation of the Minamata Convention.
The Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention
The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Minamata Convention is the governing body of this treaty. Through the decisions taken at its meetings, the COP advances the implementation of the Convention.
The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Minamata Convention in 2022 started a process to evaluate the convention’s effectiveness. This was based on scientific knowledge and information.
The Conference subsequently established an open-ended Scientific Group consisting of worldwide experts nominated by parties and supported by a roster of experts. Therefore, research as part of a broader effort to link science and policymaking at the international level was bolstered by the Minamata Convention.
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