The Secretariat of the Minamata Convention at ICMGP 2024: “It is science that will point us to the end of mercury pollution”

With the theme “From Minamata to Africa and Beyond: Addressing Mercury Challenges in Global Environment Change”, this international event serves as a key platform for experts and policymakers to share best practices, policy developments, high-quality research and innovative solutions aimed to fight mercury pollution both locally and globally.

Monika Stankiewicz, Executive Secretary of the Minamata Convention, highlighted the important role of international cooperation in tackling toxic mercury. “I am so grateful that the topic of mercury and biodiversity has been included as a theme in the programme of this conference”, she stated. “Under the Convention on Biological Diversity, a major agreement was recently made by its Parties to take urgent action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. This biodiversity plan is very comprehensive, and many of its targets are directly related to mercury”.

The Executive Secretary pointed out that; “last year at the fifth meeting of the conference of the Parties of the Minamata Convention (COP-5), Parties took a decision on Mercury and the Global Biodiversity Framework that recognized that mercury pollution impacts ecosystems as a direct driver and underlying cause of global loss of biodiversity, and that Parties, through the implementation of the Convention, can significantly contribute to global efforts to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity”.

Throughout the week, the Secretariat actively participated in various plenary talks and workshops, underlining the need for further engagement and synergies across Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and sectors in order to fight mercury and protect biodiversity. A key publication prepared by the Secretariat, titled “Mercury and Biodiversity”, was spotlighted for its insights on how mercury science can support the collective pursuit to end mercury pollution and safeguard biodiversity and people. A recent infographic summarizing the major impacts of toxic mercury on biodiversity and human health around the world can be found here.

A notable example discussed was the WWF report on “Extracted forests – unearthing the role of mining-related deforestation as a driver of global deforestation” and its connection with the significant impact of mercury pollution. The report identifies mining, particularly gold and coal, as the fourth largest driver of deforestation and, including indirect impacts such as soil and water contamination, also a major driver of environmental degradation. Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASGM), often informal, less regulated and difficult to monitor and assess, contributes considerably to this issue by using more environmentally harmful extraction methods with few rehabilitation measures in place.

In her opening remarks, Monika Stankiewicz stated that; “it was science that lit the way for community members, photographers, communicators and policymakers so that Minamata Disease became understood globally, a warning to all. It was science that laid the groundwork for the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee process that culminated in the Minamata Convention. And it is science that will, in this current phase, help assess to what extent the Minamata Convention is making progress towards its objective, contributing to global action on biodiversity and ecosystem services, and harnessing technological and non-technological solutions to end mercury pollution”.

In preparation for the Conference, the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention organized an expert meeting on mercury emissions and releases from 18 to 19 July in Cape Town, whose work will be crucial for the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Convention.

The next International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP) will be in Hyderabad, India, from 4 to 10 October 2026, and the 18th ICMPG will take place in Toledo, Spain, from 25 to 30 June 2028.