Zero Mercury Working Group Press Release
Press
release
Despite progress, global
mercury agreement undermined by uncontrolled production and trade
Groups ask governments to fast track ratification, early implementation of Minamata Treaty
Amman,
Jordan, 9 March 2016—Commitments
toward stronger global mercury controls are being hampered by illegal,
unreported and unregulated mercury production and trade, an international NGO
coalition revealed today on the eve of a UN mercury treaty meeting in Jordan.
The Zero
Mercury Working Group (ZMWG), of which the AGC is a member, said that global efforts to reduce emissions of
mercury may be derailed if gaps in mercury production and trade controls are
not addressed before the treaty enters into force.
“Trafficking
in mercury is not like selling potato chips,” said Michael Bender, ZMWG
International Coordinator. “There are well known consequences when mercury gets
haphazardly produced, traded and subsequently released into the biosphere.”
Mercury
is a potent persistent neurotoxin that bioaccumulates, posing the greatest
risks to developing children,
coastal populations and millions of small-scale gold miners using mercury
around the globe.
The
Minamata Convention on Mercury, agreed in 2013, signed by 128 countries and
ratified by 23 nations thus far, is a treaty that protects human health and
environment from mercury pollution. The treaty bans new mercury mines, places
control measures on air emissions, imposes regulations on artisanal and
small-scale gold mining, and enforces the phase out of existing mines and
products.
The
meeting in Jordan this week is the seventh session of the intergovernmental
negotiating committee (INC) on mercury. Delegates are meeting to agree on the
finer details of the agreement. This is the last meeting before the Convention
enters into force, once 50 countries ratify it.
“Countries
need to stay true to the spirit and intent of this historic agreement,” said
Elena Lymberidi-Settimo, ZMWG International Coordinator. “In order to stop the
flow we need to first know where mercury supply comes from and where it goes.”
Significant
gaps in information on mercury production and trade flows prevent a clear
understanding of the global supply situation. There is currently no standard
information or listing on mercury production, supply and trade. Some mercury
producing countries do not report production levels and many countries have no
accurate listing of their mercury stocks due to the proliferation of illegal or
smuggled supplies.
“It is
worrying that new and soon to be illegal
primary mercury mines are now popping up in Indonesia and Mexico, and that East
Asia is emerging as a major mercury trading hub,” said Richard Gutierrez, from
the Artisanal Gold Council in Canada. “All this feeds substantial mercury
demand in small-scale gold mining. At the Artisanal Gold Council we have developed
a methodology that can be used by governments and other organisations to
determine just how much mercury is being used on the ground.”
The ZMWG
believes that to effectively control and manage mercury trade, countries need
to start identifying and quantifying their mercury production sources. Governments need to be transparent about
their production volumes and stockpiles and about who is exporting and how much
to which countries.
“Preventing
opportunistic mercury production and trade through an efficient
reporting and
monitoring structure will help to prevent it from continuing. This should be a
top priority when governments gather tomorrow,” said Rico Euripidou of
groundWork South Africa. “Data reporting
should become an integral part of the treaty. Otherwise the treaty may end up
being just another paper tiger.”
Elena
Lymberidi-Settimo, ZMWG International Coordinator, Mobile: +32 496 532818, Elena.lymberidi@eeb.org
Richard Gutierrez, Project Manager - Indonesia, Artisanal Gold Council, M: +63 2
355 7640, rgutierrez@artisanalgold.org
Rico Euripidou, groundWork - Friends of the Earth
South Africa , M: +27 835193008, rico@groundwork.org.za
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The Artisanal Gold Council is a registered non-profit organization that improves the environmental and economic sustainability of artisanal and small scale gold mining communities.