JakartaPost-Mar 23, 2022
Indonesia has introduced a global declaration that calls on parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury to tackle illegal trade of mercury, with the hope that such a move would spur stronger international cooperation in the future. The declaration was read in Nusa Dua, Bali, where Indonesia is hosting the fourth Conference of Parties (COP4) to the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The conference, which is being held from March 21 to 25, was preceded by online sessions held in November last year. Indonesia has promoted the non-binding declaration, which is still under discussion and is hoped to be endorsed by parties to the convention, as one of the key outcomes as the COP4 host.The Minamata Convention, which entered into force in 2017, is a global treaty that aims to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury. It is named after a city in Japan that became the epicenter of Minamata disease, a neurological disease caused by severe mercury poisoning, in the 1950s. Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar emphasized the urgency for parties to the convention to address illegal trade of mercury, particularly in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASGM) sector, which has been on the rise after trade of mercury was strictly regulated after the convention’s entry into force. According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the illegal trade of mercury was estimated to reach between US$100 million and $215 million annually in 2020. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.
