ICCL and Minamata Convention Secretariat to host technical session on mercury-contaminated land management at 15th ICCL meeting this October

The International Committee on Contaminated Land (ICCL) and the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention cooperate to convene a half-day technical session, as part of the 15th ICCL meeting to be held in Berne, Switzerland, on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 October 2024. This session has become possible with a financial contribution from the Federal Government of Switzerland.

The Secretariat will invite several experts from developing country Parties and Parties in economies in transition. Participants are expected to present case studies on the management of land contaminated with mercury. Article 12 of the Minamata Convention provides that Parties are to develop strategies for identifying and assessing mercury-contaminated sites, and that any action to reduce the risk of contaminates sites should be performed in an environmentally sound manner. Pursuant to that article, the Conference of the Parties (COP) adopted guidance on the management of contaminated sites. The case studies are to support the Parties in using the guidance with practical hands-on information. Participants are expected to make a presentation on cases of the identification, assessment and management of sites contaminated with mercury, and develop a summary document that will supplement the COP-adopted guidance.

Experts interested in presenting case studies are invited to submit a registration form, with the summary of the case study, to the Secretariat by Monday 19 August 2024. The ICCL organizers and the Secretariat will review the registrations and identify the invited participants, who will receive travel support to participate in the ICCL meeting.

The meeting will be convened in English only.