Minamata Convention at UNEA-6

On Friday, 1 March, at 13:30h EAT, this side event fostered the exchange of best practices in the participation and engagement of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) and stakeholders in the implementation of biodiversity goals and in building these kinds of mobilizations, and to create a space for dialogues, collaboration and networking among interested actors. The experiences under the Convention on Biological Diversity and in the context of the Global Biodiversity Framework (Biodiversity plan) served as examples to foster and trigger discussions and to explore experiences, strengths, and challenges under other processes.

Manoela Pessoa de Miranda, Programme Management Officer at the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention, explained how the adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework has been a great boost for the Convention's work with IPLCs. "Although the Minamata Convention is a young MEA, being only six years old, the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-5) adopted a decision on Indigenous Peoples and local communities. We are now seeking dedicated funding to bring these stakeholders on stage and make them effectively participate in the decision-making process," she said.

The Biodiversity Plan promotes and creates opportunities for cooperation among MEAs and organizations, recognizing that enhanced collaboration and synergies at all levels would contribute to and promote its implementation in a more effective manner. In this regard, indigenous peoples and local communities, subnational and local governments, business and the financial sector, academia, youth, women and other civil society groups have a critical role to play in the implementation of the Biodiversity Plan.

In his closing remarks, David Cooper, Acting Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, showed appreciation to all groups represented in the room: "The Biodiversity Plan is a strong framework, and it is strong because all the groups that demanded to be there. Please keep up the good work. We need everyone working together. We are also looking to learn from each other, like the Minamata Convention, with their engagement with indigenous peoples and local communities. We will certainly continue to be committed to ensuring that there are spaces for your engagement in this process towards living in harmony with each other".

On Friday, 1 March, at 11:30 EAT, this side event explored the challenges and opportunities in enhancing cooperation among Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) at the national level, while fostering knowledge sharing of best practices within the regions.

The speakers from MEAs and the Law Division sought to increase the overall understanding and present the outcome of the pilot project focusing on the work areas and modalities of cooperation between the operational focal points of the Montreal Protocol (NoUs), the BRS Conventions and the Minamata Convention on a practical level.  

Manoela Pessoa de Miranda, Programme Management Officer at the Minamata Convention Secretariat, presented how badly mercury impacts biodiversity and human health, highlighting the main areas of cooperation with Ozone and BRS. Some of these critical areas are the joint studies on climate change and biodiversity, the border control where countries could work together to avoid illegal trade of mercury and other chemicals, the global biodiversity framework through target 7, the Open-ended scientific group and involving Pacific Island countries, which are very much affected by mercury.

After the keynote speakers, Osvaldo Álvarez, Minamata Convention COP-6 President, gave his perspective from Chile. "Over the past years, we have seen much more communication with the national officers and across the conventions, in the area of chemicals and waste including the Montreal Protocol. And if you have a good secretariat who provides you support, it also makes your work easier to achieve results".

He also brought the example of the Minamata Convention Implementation and Compliance Committee. He suggested that including the compliance mechanism in the Convention text is a winning strategy, and acknowledged that the Minamata Convention has a functioning implementation and compliance mechanism.

This event is a joint initiative between UNEP Law Division, Ozone Action and the Secretariat of Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions as well as Minamata Convention’s Secretariat.

On February 29 (17:15 - 18:30 EAT), this MEA high level side event presented the outcomes of the Bern III conference, whose goal was to contribute to the efficient and effective implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) by identifying practical opportunities to drive and coordinate an inclusive collaborative approach towards implementation of the framework while respecting the mandates of participating MEAs.

Osvaldo Álvarez, President of the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention (COP-6), recalled that, "at the Bern III Conference, I was pleased to see that not only Rio conventions but also chemicals and waste conventions were invited, all of them bringing different perspectives, making this effort much more fruitful".

"The two UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) resolutions on Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), which are expected to be gaveled by UNEA-6 on Friday, will benefit the Parties to MEAs", he added. "A key take away from the Bern Conference is that many MEAs are talking to each other, both at the national and secretariats levels".

More information about the event here.

The Secretariat of the Minamata Convention led this side event on Thursday, 29 at 11h30 EAT. It delved into the transformative potential of technology in the realm of MEAs and how it can empower us to share and leverage project knowledge effectively. 

Through different case studies from InforMEA, BRS, CITES, IPBES and the Minamata Convention, this side event explored current and future avenues where technology can enhance collaboration, foster growth, and facilitate improved communication about on-the-ground developments.

In her opening remarks, Executive Secretary Monika Stankiewicz highlighted: “Digitalization has the huge potential to accelerate the implementation of the conventions, provide transparency, optimise science utilization, and apply data-driven approaches. In the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention, we have the golden opportunity to leverage technologies and manage our existing knowledge and information effectively from the start. To this end, we have developed a digital strategy that was presented at the recent COP-5, which articulates our perspective on how digitalization can support the Secretariat’s and Parties’ work in protecting human health and the environment from mercury”.

The Secretariat presented, through communications and knowledge management officer Anna Garcia, about GEF and SIP projects interoperability and dashboards for enhanced environmental impact under the Minamata Convention.

Watch the video recording and read the presentations are available on the event page.

In the morning of February 29, this side event organized by the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions explored areas of cooperation among the Implementation and Compliance Committees (ICCs) of the Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) to better address the triple planetary crises.

Executive Secretary Monika Stankiewicz underlined that "“mechanisms are already in place to allow collaboration between the Implementation and Compliance Committees of the MEAs, including through their work programmes. I look forward to continuing our cooperation with other MEAs and their ICCs and to continue sharing experiences of our Committee with other MEAs who are also beginning their work, such as the newly established Committee under the Stockholm Convention”.

Paulina Riquelme, former Chair of the Implementation and Compliance Committee of the Minamata Convention, stated that "the advantage of having an Implementation and Compliance Committee embedded in the text of the Minamata Convention is that the Committee had the opportunity to start its work since the very entry into force. I believe that the COP-5 experience demonstrated the ability of this Committee to effectively support the COP in keeping under continuous review and evaluation the implementation of the Convention, on the basis of information provided directly by Parties in their national reports”.

Watch the full event here.

Today, UNEA-6 will focus on the importance of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). Here is some of what is planned. For a full list of events, view the UNEA-6 programme. (All times EAT)

• 9:00 Opening of MEA Day (second plenary)
• 9:30 Session: Citizen science – a key support for MEAs
• 10:00 MEA Dialogue 1: Strengthening the Science-Policy Interface
• 13:00 Ministerial meeting of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution
• 15:00 Closing plenary of the Committee of the Whole
• 15:00 MEA Dialogue 2: Strengthening cooperation between UNEA, UNEP and MEAs
• 18:15 MEA Day reception

Osvaldo Álvarez, President of the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention (COP-6), stated: "I welcome the inclusion of cooperation with Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) in the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) agenda, marking the first, but certainly not the last, time. It is important for UNEA resolutions to support the effective implementation of MEAs, and for MEAs to contribute, through decisions of their respective governing bodies, to the implementation of resolutions".

"The more importance is given to the environmental agenda at the global level, the greater its impact can be felt on the national level", he added. "UNEP and MEAs have a joint role to play in elevating environmental issues on the global agenda. I particularly look forward to the strong cooperation between the Minamata Convention, UNEA and UNEP".

Step into the Digital Accelerator Lab at UNEA6, where innovation meets environmental action! You can explore groundbreaking solutions and cutting-edge prototypes, and dive into insightful reports.

Here is a sneak peek of the most relevant Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) solutions.

InforMEA

To ensure that stakeholders have the best possible access to information, the InforMEA Portal provides a bird's-eye view of all major environmental treaties and how they relate to countries and regions in the world. It offers rapid retrieval of information and a robust research capability. Decision-makers can use this database to explore best practices and design their countries' policies in line with global environmental legislation. It organizes the world's environmental law for those who need it to steer and implement global environmental policy.

The Portal is governed by the InforMEA Initiative, which brings together over 20 MEA Secretariats who jointly develop harmonized and inter-operable information systems to benefit Parties and the environmental community. It is facilitated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and supported by the European Union.

InforMEA Negotiator's Toolkit 

The InforMEA Negotiator's Toolkit is a comprehensive knowledge base designed to assist negotiators in understanding and navigating multilateral environmental negotiations and related processes. It provides valuable resources and information to both new and experienced negotiators to enhance their skills and effectiveness in MEA negotiations.

Insights from ASGM National Action Plans

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is crucial to the livelihood of millions of people in over 80 countries, many in rural areas with limited alternative economic prospects. Yet it is accountable for being the largest source of human-made mercury emissions and releases. Developing a National Action Plan (NAP) under the Minamata Convention is key to reducing and, when feasible, eliminating the use of mercury in ASGM and, by this, minimizing mercury pollution.

The Minamata Convention NAP Dynamic Dashboards present interactive data extracted from the National Action Plans (NAPs) for ASGM. It allows users to view and interact with mercury use and gold production data, facilitating exploratory data analysis among ASGM experts and policymakers to inform policy formulation and research.

Under the theme "Effective, inclusive and sustainable multilateral actions to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution", the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) kicked off at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

From 26 February to 1 March, UNEA-6 will focus on how multilateralism can help tackle the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. The Assembly will highlight the importance of cooperation with Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) with a full day (28 February 2024) devoted to the discussion to enhance its relationship with the MEAs by strengthening convergence of actions and sharing of experiences. 

Make a quick visit to the exhibition area

The United Nations campus in Nairobi is ready to welcome more than 5,000 participants to the Sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly #UNEA6.

For one week delegates from around the world will discuss the health of the planet, focusing on inclusive, multi-sectoral and science-based actions to solve the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss and pollution and waste.

In the exhibition area, multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) are finalizing all details to provide spaces for interaction and information exchange to inspire new solutions.

The Minamata Convention Secretariat is displaying information resources on the work being done to #MakeMercuryHistory.

More information on the #MinamataConvention Secretariat's participation 👉 bit.ly/UNEA6Minamata

Karibu Kenya!

"Cooperation with Multilateral Environmental Agreements" (known as the MEA day) will be the focus of a a full day on 28 February 2024 during UNEA-6, and it will be complemented with a 3-day programme of MEA side events will be held from 28 February to 1 March 2024, and with a full week of MEA exhibitions. These programme and events are led by the MEAs themselves and open to all UNEA-6 participants.

To know more about the events led, partnered and participated by the Minamata Convention on Mercury, visit our tentative list for UNEA-6.