Capacity Building Programme for the implementation of the Minamata Convention

Argentina’s Minamata Initial Assessment (MIA) has identified the countrypriorities and main challenges to implement the Minamata Convention. Interms of priorities, mercury added products (MAP) are at the top of the list asthey remain part of daily life and industrial activities. The MIA also shed lighton all the challenges regarding country capacity to implement the MinamataConvention. It is based on these findings that the project focuses itsactivities on the improvement of technical capacity at a national and subnationallevel and focuses on MAP.

The MIA also shed light on the fact that the sampling and monitoringcapacity of mercury and mercury compounds in different matrices is low andnational and sub-national governments lack capacity to identify and evaluatepotentially contaminated sites and exposed populations. To respond to that,this project will develop and strengthen a laboratory network and itsmeasuring capacities and will implement a mercury surveillance unit, amongother activities, in order to tackle the lack of monitoring capacity at thenational and sub-national level.