Strengthening institutional capacity in the development of a phase-out and phase down strategy for mercury added products in Lesotho

Lesotho’s Minamata Initial Assessment (MIA) found that consumer products such as thermometers, blood pressure gauges, fluorescent light bulbs, batteries,etc. account for 51% of the total releases and emissions of mercury into the environment. It also found that mercury use in religious rituals and folklore medicine was a high priority requiring Government intervention.

It is for this reason that this project aims to strengthen Lesotho's capacity to meet its obligations as a Party to the Minamata Convention by improving the management framework of mercury-added products and their wastes. The envisaged outcome of the project is a steady and gradual reduction in the use of mercury-added products, the switching to their alternatives and, eventually, phasing out of mercury-added products, which has been identified in the Lesotho's exemption registration.