UNITED
NATIONSEP
UNEP (Economy
Division)/Hg/PAG.12/3
Distr.: General
10 March 2022
English only

United Nations
Environment
Programme
UNEP Global Mercury Partnership
Advisory Group
Twelfth meeting
Virtual meeting, 11 and 14 March 2022

Report on activities undertaken within the United Nations
Environment Programme Global Mercury Partnership
Note by the secretariat
The Overarching Framework of the UNEP Global Mercury Partnership outlines that one of thefunctions and responsibilities of the Partnership Advisory Group is to report on activities undertaken
within the Partnership.
The annex to the present note sets out a report on such activities during the period from December
2020 to February 2022. The report provides an overview of overarching activities undertaken by thePartnership. On the basis of input received from the leads and co-leads of each Partnership area, it alsopresents highlights of Partnership area activities during the reporting period, as well as of future work
planned.

UNEP/ Hg/PAG.12/3

Annex
Report on activities undertaken within the United Nations
Environment Programme Global Mercury Partnership(December 2020 to February 2022)I.

Introduction
Initiated in 2005 by a decision of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Governing
Council1, the Global Mercury Partnership (hereinafter referred to as the “Partnership”) focuses on
supporting timely and effective implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, on
providing state of the art knowledge and science on mercury, and on delivering outreach andawareness raising towards global action on mercury.
The Partnership is structured around eight priorities for action or so-called “Partnership areas”,
namely: artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), mercury cell chlor-alkali production, mercury
air transport and fate research, mercury in products, mercury releases from coal combustion, mercury
waste management, mercury supply and storage, and mercury releases from the cement industry.
The present report provides an overview of overarching activities undertaken by the Partnership during
the period from December 2020 to February 2022, including on work conducted in a cross-cuttingmanner amongst Partnership areas pursuant to decisions of the Partnership Advisory Group (PAG), as
well as intersessional work for the fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata
Convention. On the basis of input received from each Partnership area, it also presents highlights ofPartnership areas activities during the reporting period, as well as some of the future work planned.

II.

Overview
Participation
The number of partners of the Global Mercury Partnership is steadily growing:•

As of 1 March 2022, there were 236 members of the Partnership, including 37 governments, 11international organizations, 77 non-governmental organizations, 58 industry/private sector as well
as 53 academia and others.

•

Some partners are global industry associations or federations of civil society organizations thatcollaborate with and represent a larger number of national entities/associations. In addition, thePartnership works with a number of stakeholders that have not yet officially joined. The Partnershipalso closely collaborates with the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention as well as with a numberof UN agencies.

Organisation
Leads of individual Partnership areas are:•

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM): The Natural Resources Defence Council(NRDC), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Industrial
Development Organization (UNIDO)•

Mercury cell chlor-alkali production: The Environmental Protection Agency of the UnitedStates and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)•

Mercury air transport and fate research: The National Research Council (CNR)2 - Institute ofAtmospheric Pollution Research, Italy, the Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) and theDartmouth College•

Mercury in products: The Environmental Protection Agency of the United States•

Mercury releases from coal combustion: The International Centre for Sustainable Carbon(ICSC) and the Macquarie University (Australia)

1 UNEP Governing Council Decision 23/9
2 Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche

2UNEP/ Hg/PAG.12/3•

Mercury waste management: The Ministry of the Environment of Japan and Misuzu Asari,
Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University (Japan)•

Mercury supply and storage: The Ministry for the Ecological Transition3 of Spain and theMinistry of Housing, Territorial Planning and Environment4 of Uruguay•

Mercury releases from the cement industry: The Global Cement and Concrete Association(GCCA) and the Ministry of Climate Change of Pakistan

Partnership Advisory GroupThe Overarching Framework of the Partnership establishes a Partnership Advisory Group (PAG) to,amongst others, serve the Partnership and encourage the work of its Partnership areas. Its membership
includes Partnership area leads, partners nominated by the Partnership areas and other representatives.
Observers may also attend meetings of the PAG.
During the reporting period, the PAG held its eleventh meeting (PAG-11) on 15 and 16 December
2020 in an online setting5, under the leadership of the PAG co-chairs, Rodges Ankrah, Environmental
Protection Agency of the United States, and Teeraporn Wiriwutikorn, Ministry of Natural Resources
and Environment of Thailand, further to their designation at PAG-10 (23 November 2019, Geneva)6.

III.

Highlight of overarching activities
A number of awareness-raising, information dissemination, experience-sharing as well as
cross-cutting activities have been conducted during the current reporting period, including
pursuant to decisions of the Partnership Advisory Group at its the tenth and eleventh meetings.
Responding to decisions of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention at its third
meeting (COP-3), the Partnership also supported intersessional work in preparation for its fourth
meeting (COP-4).

Awareness-raising, information dissemination and experience-sharing activities
Webinars to support sharing of information and experience: the Partnership continued to roll out aseries of webinars to support sharing of information and experience. Interests and priority topics wereidentified through needs expressed in the context of meetings of the PAG and of Partnership areas, aswell as through an online survey conducted by the Secretariat of the Partnership in April 2020. The
following events have been organized during the current reporting period 7:•

In the context of the 2020 deadline for phase out under the Minamata Convention, and in follow
up to online sessions organized in 2020 on mercury-containing medical devices and mercury inskin-lightening products in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO), thePartnership and its areas of work on mercury in products and on mercury waste management
jointly organized an online information-sharing session dedicated to the phase out of mercurycontaining lamps in December 2021.

•

In relation to ASGM, the Partnership and its area of work on ASGM organized an online webinar
to discuss gender mainstreaming into National Action Plans (NAPs) in June 2021, and together
with the planetGOLD Programme, jointly organized an online session dedicated to best
management practices in the use of cyanide in January 2022.

•

The Partnership and its waste management area organized an online information-sharing session
dedicated to mercury wastes management for the implementation of Article 11 of the Minamata
Convention in February 2022, which introduced available resources and technologies for treating
mercury wastes, featuring experience in different parts of the world.

•

The Partnership also contributed to several “Minamata Online” sessions 8, and a session on
mercury emissions from coal was co-organized by the Partnership area on mercury releases from

3 “Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica”
4 “Ministerio de Vivienda, Ordenamiento Territorial y Medio Ambiente”
5 The report of the meeting as well as other meeting documents may be found at:https://www.unep.org/globalmercurypartnership/events/unep-event/partnership-advisory-group-meeting-11
6 https://www.unep.org/globalmercurypartnership/events/unep-event/partnership-advisory-group-meeting-10
7 Further information about these events may be found on the Partnership website at:ww.unep.org/globalmercurypartnership/events
8 http://www.mercuryconvention.org/Resources/MinamataOnline/tabid/8527/language/en-US/Default.aspx
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coal combustion together with the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention and the International
Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant in November 2021.
•

Side events were organized in November 2021 in the margins of the first segment of COP-4 (1 to
5 November 2021). The Partnership area on ASGM and the Secretariat of the Minamata
Convention co-hosted a side event on the sound management of mercury-containing tailings in
ASGM and the Partnership area on mercury air transport and fate research together with the
Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) organized a side event on the Guidance on monitoring of
mercury and mercury compounds to support the effectiveness evaluation of the Convention.

The Partnership Newsletter launched in 2020 in order to enhance communication and outreach wasrolled out on a quarterly basis. The Newsletter features highlights by Partnership areas and partners,
relevant resources and publications, introduction of new partners, upcoming and past events, and isbeing circulated to all partners and interested stakeholders.
In the framework of the third Round of applications to the Specific International Programme of
the Minamata Convention, the Secretariat of the Partnership also contributed to the review process ofproject proposals submitted by Parties through the provision of technical input and the participation in
Cross-Secretariat Task Team meetings, together with the secretariats of the Minamata Convention,
Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Special Programme.
The Partnership website was migrated to a new content management platform in the last quarter of2021. The new site is accessible at www.unep.org/globalmercurypartnership and offers new features toshowcase information in a dynamic and user-friendly manner.

Cross-cutting work on mercury from oil and gas and from non-ferrous metals
The Partnership Advisory Group decided at its tenth meeting (Geneva, 23 November 2019) to initiate
work on mercury from non-ferrous metals mining and smelting and from oil and gas, which it had
identified as cross-cutting topics amongst several Partnership areas. 9
In follow up to expert consultations in April 2020, which gathered interested partners andstakeholders, Partnership area leads agreed to guide a process for developing study reports on the two
topics. Amongst others, the aim of the study report on mercury from non-ferrous metals mining andsmelting was to provide a better understanding of the mercury mass balance globally between supply,
storage, and waste treatment related to non-ferrous metals mining and smelting operations. With
respect to mercury from oil and gas, the aim of the study report was, amongst others, to better
understand potential releases of mercury from the sector, as well as possibly how wastes are treated
and accounted for and may be entering the market for other uses.
Draft annotated outlines of the study reports were presented for consideration by the Partnership
Advisory Group at its eleventh meeting (online meeting, 15 and 16 December 2020) 10. Together with
the information collected, the finalized annotated outlines were used as a basis to develop draft study
reports, which were subsequently made available for written comments and input. Expert consultations
were also held in April and May 202111. The revised draft of the study reports were subsequently
shared with the groups of experts for any last major comment. The study reports, in its final pre-printversion for the report on mercury from non-ferrous metals mining and smelting and in its latest draft
version for the report on mercury from oil and gas are presented to the PAG at its twelfth meeting in
documents UNEP/ Hg/PAG.12/4 and UNEP/ Hg/PAG.12/5 for consideration and discussion on way
forward and possible next steps.

Cooperation on intersessional work for COP4
The third meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention (Geneva, November2019) called for cooperation with the Partnership on intersessional work on customs codes and on the
management of tailings from ASGM in preparation for its fourth meeting. The Partnership area on
mercury in products has hence collaborated with the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention to
respond to the COP mandate on the issue of customs codes, in the development of a guidance
document on their use in the context of the Convention (decision MC-3/3, documents
9 The report of the tenth meeting of the Partnership Advisory Group (document UNEP/ Hg/PAG.10/5) is available

at: https://www.unep.org/globalmercurypartnership/events/unep-event/partnership-advisory-group-meeting-10
10 The report of the eleventh meeting of the Partnership Advisory Group (document UNEP/ Hg/PAG.11/7) isavailable at: https://www.unep.org/globalmercurypartnership/events/unep-event/partnership-advisory-groupmeeting-11
11 Further information on this work may be found at: https://www.unep.org/globalmercurypartnership/expertconsultations-mercury-non-ferrous-metals and at https://www.unep.org/globalmercurypartnership/expertconsultations-mercury-oil-and-gas
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UNEP/MC/COP.4/27 and UNEP/MC/COP.4/INF/5), and the Partnership area on ASGM has worked
with the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention to update the ASGM National Action Plan GuidanceDocument regarding management of tailings (decision MC-3/5, documents UNEP/MC/COP.4/6 andUNEP/MC/COP.4/INF/6). The Partnership also collaborated with the Secretariat of the Minamata
Convention on developing tools to assist countries in the use of remote sensing to support ASGM
policy development and implementation.

IV.
1)

Activity Report by Partnership area
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM)a)

The objectives of the Partnership area are the continued minimization and elimination, where
feasible, of mercury uses and releases in artisanal and small-scale gold mining.
Lessons learnt and ways forward: Creating alternatives to mercury amalgamation remains a key
challenge, one that is being tackled by many partners, as described in the section below.
Alternatives should be affordable, cleaner and more efficient at extracting gold, a combinationthat is well recognized by international agencies, governments, NGOs and academics. However,such a major change in processing requires continuous efforts in formalization, access to finance,
education and organization of miners. Bottom-up approaches, involving the miners, are essential.

b)

Key activities in the Partnership area include: (The Partnership area chose to report on key
activities by partners. Below are activities undertaken by partners during the reporting period.
Joint work is displayed per project, in order to avoid repetition.)•

GEF planetGOLD programme:oooIn early 2019 UNEP, UNIDO and NRDC launched the GEF GOLD programme, funded by
the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and led by UNEP, in collaboration with a range ofpartners. The programme, now branded as planetGOLD, is helping gold miners replace toxic
mercury with cleaner techniques, improving access to finance and facilitate formalization of
the sector. The Programme works in eight countries (Burkina Faso, Colombia, Guyana,
Indonesia, Kenya, Mongolia, Peru and the Philippines), and has a global knowledge
management and communications component. UNEP, UNIDO and NRDC have beenworking on the main elements of the global project, including outreach to the investment
sector, development of knowledge management tools and materials and a communications
strategy, including the launch of the planetGOLD.org website. Other partners are
participating as executing agencies for individual country projects. For example, theArtisanal Gold Council is executing the planetGOLD projects in Burkina Faso, Mongolia
and the Philippines; Conservation International is executing planetGOLD Guyana, andUNDP is carrying out the projects in Colombia, Indonesia, Kenya, and Peru. Pact supported
planetGOLD Indonesia assessment and capacity development of business and financial
products in the ASGM sector. Pure Earth has supported with capacity building ofgovernment stakeholders in the ASGM sector and the empowerment of artisanal womenminers in Indonesia, with building the financial capacity of miners and the development ofmodules for ASGM formalization. Also, Pure Earth in Colombia has developed a new Index
Mercury Contamination methodology to prioritize the intervention of contaminated sites
affecting vulnerable communities.
In June 2020, the GEF Council approved an expansion of the planetGOLD programme,
adding eight countries: Bolivia, Ghana, Honduras, Madagascar, Nigeria, Republic of theCongo, Suriname, and Uganda. In June 2021, it was extended to an additional sevencountries: Sierra Leone, Zambia, Mali, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Nicaragua, Ecuador. Led byConservation International, the expanded programme will continue to focus on reducing theuse of mercury, formalization, financial access, and responsible supply chains in the ASGM
sector. It will also pilot jurisdictional approaches, which are place-based approaches tosustainability that focus on areas defined by (local) administrative boundaries, and thatreconcile social, economic and environmental objectives through multi-stakeholder
participation and government engagement. Some partners are involved in project preparation
for this expansion.
The Government of Madagascar started the mobilization of stakeholders at national level forthe elaboration of the Project Preparation Grant (PPG) submitted to the GEF in December
2021. Preparation of the other child projects is also on-going.
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GEF-funded National Action Plans on artisanal and small-scale gold mining
UNEP has provided technical support to 30 countries developing National Action Plans on
ASGM. Twelve of these have been completed. In addition to providing implementation support
to individual country teams, UNEP also engaged in activities to benefit countries more broadly,
including for example:ooooLaunching of the “Quick Start Guide for managing mercury trade in artisanal and smallscale gold mining”;
Launching of the NAP specific gender guidelines “Incorporating gender dimensions into
national strategy setting in chemicals management”;
Using in house experts and utilizing peer review system, providing technical comments on
the draft NAP documents; and providing “help desk” services and consultations on thedevelopment of NAP to participating countries.
Organizing periodic webinars/regional meetings on specific aspects of NAP
development/implementation and/or lessons learned.

UNIDO supported six countries in completing their National Action Plan projects and is still
providing support to an additional seven countries.
•

Artisanal Gold Council (AGC)
AGC has continued its work addressing ASGM in the core areas of policy, improved practices,finance, supply chain, and outreach. AGC continued to conduct research and development
programmes on technical and training solutions for ASGM, including:
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In its last year, the Sustainable Development of Artisanal Gold Mining in Indonesia project,funded by Global Affairs Canada was successfully handed over, with mercury free
processing facilities installed in beneficiary ASGM cooperatives at three project sites. Prior
to the transfers, a mentorship program trained selected members from the communities tomanage day to day operations of the mercury free processing facilities.
In Guyana, with funding from the US Department of State (USDoS), the AGC began workon the project: “Roadmap to Responsible Gold”.
In Papua New Guinea, with funding from the US Department of State (USDoS) the AGC
continued work on the project: “Reducing Mercury Use in Papua New Guinea’s Artisanaland Small-scale Gold Mining Sector”.
In Peru, with funding from the USDoS, the AGC continued work on the project: “Increased
Transparency and Control of Mercury”. One product that the project has developed and willsoon be distributed in preparation for COP4, are a set of practical Guidelines for the Interim
Storage, Transportation and Handling of Mercury (Basic and Comprehensive Guidelines),
including liquid mercury and mercury wastes, in particular, wastes consisting of used
elemental mercury and mercury contaminated materials.
In Sierra Leone, with funding from the German Association for International Cooperation,
the AGC continued working on the project: “Demonstrating Responsible Artisanal andSmall-scale Production and Trade of Gold in Sierra Leone”.
In Suriname, with funding from the USDoS, the AGC continued work on the project:“Abating Mercury Emissions via Mobile Processing Units for Small-Scale Gold
Processing”.
In Burkina Faso, AGC began work on the Scalable Trade in Artisanal Gold (STAG) project
funded by the European Partnership for Responsible Minerals (EPRM). STAG is apartnership with RESOLVE and RMI and has Ford, CISCO, and ABB as industrial partners.
A goal is formal mercury free gold trade.
AGC also began a new project funded by the World Bank in Burkina Faso “Supporting theTraining and Capacity Building of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Miners in Burkina Faso.”
A series of trainings are planned, including on more productive and mercury-free gold
recovery.
In Colombia, AGC participated in the ASGM component of the EU funded project via
UNIDO “Rural development and empowerment of the Communitarian Councils of the
Chocó Department through the sustainable use of natural and mineral resources”.
Internationally, AGC began a project with the Organisation of American States entitled:“Promoting International Cooperation to Improve OAS Member States “Systems to Monitor
and Control the Illegal Trade and Use of Mercury for ASGM in the Americas”.
In the context of the Global component of planetGOLD, AGC produced the draft “Technical
Report Writing Guide”, which elaborates the scientific and technical information aboutmineral properties needed by potential investors in ASGM projects. This Guide sets out thecontent, requirements and format needed for qualified persons to complete a Technical

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o•Report in compliance with certified standards developed by the professional mineral’s sector
such as Canada’s National Instrument 43101.
In response to COVID-19, AGC developed COVID-19 awareness posters, training materials
as well as safety protocols for all projects and continuously adapted those to ensure safeinteractions with mining communities and other stakeholders. AGC continues to develop
communications on the health and livelihood impact of COVID-19 on ASGM communities.

Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM)
ARM supported the following mining entities in the improvement of their processing methods:
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Coodmilla cooperative, Colombia: improving the gold recovery mechanism with innovative
solutions such as Goldstrike©
La Gabriela cooperative, Colombia: the organization switched to a gravimetric only
processing plant, but also improved its yield.
Mercury assessment in 4 mining areas in the Cauca area, Colombia. This led to thedefinition of actions plans to use mercury-free plants and start a decontamination plan in themost affected areas.
The first free-mercury mobile processing plant in Colombia, located in Cauca.
Cruz Pata cooperative, Peru, is using mercury on concentrates, and ARM supported theorganization in defining an action plan towards mercury elimination in their process.
ARM is supporting various other mining organizations in Colombia and Peru to achieve
either access to legal market or Fairmined certification, and this support includes strategies
to reduce the use of mercury, with the finality to eliminate completely its use.

ARM also implemented activities in the following projects/programs:
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Based on funding from WWF/FFEM, ARM started a viability assessment to select pilot sites
in Guyana and Suriname as a first phase of a three-year project, which aims at contributing
to reduce mercury contamination in the Guianas by phasing-out mercury use in the gold
mining sector and reducing mercury emissions from mining deforestation by 2025.
In Burkina Faso, preparation of the establishment of a “clean gold” supply chain, based on
the pilot experiment, funded by CIEDEL in Zorgho and associated municipalities(Ganzourgou Province) that allowed the identification and test of alternative solutions to theuse of mercury in mineral processing.
In Burkina Faso, ARM is also executing the project “Sanu Kura: Support for the creation of
responsible and legal gold mining in Burkina Faso”, aiming at the progressive formalizationof 10 ASM sites and the elimination of mercury in 6 of them.
ARM also contributed with a study on Burkina Faso to the IUCN report “Opening the blackbox: Local Insights into the formal and informal global mercury trade revealed” 12.

Appelglobal
Appelglobal together with two other Danish companies (Elplatek and FLSchmidt) obtained a
grant from the Danish Government to clean rivers draining small-scale gold mining communities
from mercury. Appelglobal and partners have evaluated test sites for the cleaning operation in
the Philippines and are presently evaluating test sites in South America.
AppelGlobal, in close collaboration with the Honduran Ministry of Environment and the GEFGold Program, completed a preliminary screening in June 2021 of forty-two geo-referenced sites
along an 11-mile segment of the Sampile river and wetlands. Samples are presently being
analysed for metallic and total mercury, together with pertinent ancillary parameters. Once theanalytical results are available, a suitable site in the Sampile river will be identified to install alarge machine for processing river sediments and mercury during the dry season. Recovered
mercury will be shipped to Switzerland and stored in salt mines in Germany. The project will
also train small-scale gold miners to extract gold without using mercury and will establish ascientifically rigorous baseline data platform to help the government and its partners measuredevelopment impacts from the project over time.

•

Carbone Guinée (member of the European Environmental Bureau / Zero Mercury Working
Group (EEB/ZMWG) conducted the following activities under a project part of the Small Grants
Programme funded by the GEF:o

Raising awareness among gold miners about the environmental and health risks associatedwith the use of mercury in gold mining, to support the adoption of good environmental andhealth practices.

12 https://www.iucn.nl/files/groene_economie/lr_mercury_brochure_digitaal_gebruik.pdf

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Diálogos has several ongoing projects involving mercury-free ASGM, including:
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Uganda (with Appelglobal) “Free Your Mine, 2018-2021”. UNACOH, NAPE. The project
aims to train around 1000 small-scale miners in the mercury-free extraction method; toincrease knowledge of mercury toxicology for local health care workers, teachers and school
children; and to empower civil society stakeholders to support the miners in their transition
to mercury-free mining techniques.
Mozambique “Artisanal Mining: Ambitions and culture in Cabo Delgado 2016-2020”.
Medicus Mundi, Céntro de Vila. In March 2018 during a Diálogos’ miner-to-miner training
session with scientific monitoring, the mercury-free method yielded up to 78 % more gold
than the locally used method. In 2020, one mining community had gone totally mercury freeusing only borax to extract the gold.
Bolivia “Mercury Free Gold Mining (2020-2022)”. Plagbol. This project aims to train 300
ASGM miners, as well as 60 miners to act as trainers, in mercury-free method; increaseknowledge of mercury toxicology for 20 health care workers and 50 teachers; and build
capacity and empowerment of 50 civil society stakeholders, Miners' Unions with 900
cooperatives and the Ministry of Mining and Metallurgy to support the miners in theirtransition to the mercury-free method. Indirect beneficiaries will be 50,000 in the local
population.
Tiira summit (planned 2021 but postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic). UNACOH,
Busitema University, DASAM. A summit will be held with invited stakeholders from
UNEP, Uganda Government, Dialogos etc. Presentation of miner-training in the mercuryfree extraction method. There will also be a workshop at the University of Uganda on theprospects and challenges for promoting mercury-free extraction method to ASGM miners.

Futura Jewelry has worked on the following actions:
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Awareness raising activities: Futura website as well as social media activity provide
information that support the work of the Partnership area. Futura enlists the support of social
media influencers to grow the reach of its responsible gold message; participates in podcaststhat help communicate the message on the elimination of mercury emissions in small scale
gold mining and educate the public; and appeared on several jewellery webinars devoted to
the need for better practices in the jewellery industry.
Futura is working with the TV program “Viewpoint by Dennis Quaid” to provide content fora five-minute public television segment about the worldwide threat of mercury emissions, thesmall-scale mining industry and how one may help solve the problem. The segment will start
to appear during the fourth quarter of 2021.
Futura participated in the charity event for Have a Heart that resulted in its event specificmercury-free gold jewellery being marketed to the 2 million followers of the on-line retailer
Moda Operandi.

IMPACT Transforming Natural Resources Management (IMPACT) implemented a number ofprojects and activities to contribute to the elimination of the worst practices and support
innovative market-based approaches:oo8Training local craftsmen in the production of retorts and promoting them to enable gold
miners use alternative methods and techniques.
Support to the acquisition of retorts.
Worked to make the SDGs more understandable in connection with the Minamata
Convention (Article 7) and the Guinean mining code.
Making a documentary film on the testimony of gold miners and residents of the sites on
operating conditions, the use of mercury and the risks to their health.
Capitalizing on knowledge, lessons learned from the project's approach and experience.

IMPACT documented its learnings from the Just Gold project in north-eastern Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC), funded by Global Affairs Canada, in the report “The Just
Gold Project: Lessons for the Future of Artisanal Gold in Democratic Republic of Congo" in
March 2021. The report documents the lessons learned throughout the implementation of the
project, including the provision of technical assistance to miners, and identifies criticalbarriers for the future of conflict-free, responsible artisanal gold in the DRC. IMPACT is now
working with various stakeholders in DRC to address these barriers, most notably on
reforming the fiscal regime for the artisanal gold sector which, in its current form, serves as adisincentive for legal trade and threatens the commercial viability of conflict-free,responsible artisanal gold supply chains.
Continued implementation of the Just Gold project in Côte d'Ivoire with funding from theEuropean Union. The project had regular exports of legal and traceable artisanal gold from

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the cooperative to a European refiner, while providing technical assistance to miners
including the installation of mercury free gold processing equipment.
IMPACT began implementation of the Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment inArtisanal Mining project, known as the Digging for Equality, funded by Global Affairs
Canada. The project is implemented in DRC, Uganda and Zimbabwe over a three-year period
and supports women miners to improve their environmental practices. The project supports
installation of gravimetric mercury free processing in South Kivu, DRC. Environmental
Assessments and strategies for reducing mercury exposure amongst women miners have beendeveloped.
IMPACT began a new project in partnership with the Colorado School of Mines and I.R.
Consilium entitled "Understanding and Disrupting Key Convergence Nodes of the Illicit
Gold and Mercury Supply Chains in Latin America and Africa". The project will contributeto a better understanding of illicit supply chains and the ability to detect, disrupt, and disable
them through an examination and comparison of key convergence nodes in the global supply
chains for illicit gold and mercury in Latin America and Africa, with a focus on Peru and
Kenya. The 5-year project is funded by the National Science Foundation.
With the support of Global Affairs Canada, IMPACT developed and launched a Gender
Impact Assessment Toolkit for Projects and Policies Related to ASM in December 2020.
This is the first gender impact assessment tailored to the sector and which can be used bypolicymakers or project developers, including those implementing projects to reduce mercury
use. The toolkit is currently in use by IMPACT's partners in DRC, Zimbabwe and Uganda. It
is available in Spanish, English, and French.
IMPACT launched its Foundations for Peace project in Burkina Faso, which aims to support
a more responsible artisanal gold sector, while increasing security in mining communities.
Continued development and digitization of IMPACT's Planning, Monitoring and Learning
System for impact monitoring, to improve understanding of interventions on formalisation,
mercury reduction, traceable supply chains, and due diligence initiatives.

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Marcello Veiga (Professor Emeritus University of British Columbia). In 2021, professor Veiga
participated in several projects on ASGM:
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Chief Technical Advisor of projects implemented by Solidaridad in Pamaka, Suriname. One
project aimed at improving techniques used by Artisanal Gold Miners through training of
200-300 people in chemical analyses, mineral processing, and elimination of mercury fromoperations. The other aimed at developing strategies to reduce environmental impacts,
improve quality of life of miners and their communities, and introduce reclamation measuresand economic diversification of 200 artisanal gold miners and their families.
Technical assistance to small companies processing gold from tailings in Sudan and in Costa
Rica.
Participation in projects aimed at training trainers, miners and Government employees on
Artisanal Gold Mining in Mauritania and in Colombia-Indonesia.
Participation in a project of assessment of Coexistence of Artisanal Miners with
Conventional Mining Companies in Brazil, implemented by EGPS – World Bank.

•

McGill University, Montreal, Canada, in collaboration with Ghana Health Service, published new
research to demonstrate that mercury exposures are about 3-fold higher in ASGM miners working
in un-registered sites versus those working in registered sites in Tarkwa, a gold mining town in
Ghana. The study compares mercury exposures and neuropsychological test results between
miners from registered and unregistered ASGM sites. The research also found that ~30% ofartisanal miners indicated some degree of associated health challenges in relation to reduction inappetite, hair loss or excess salivation.

•

Pact’s Mines to Market programme has undertaken the following activities in support of ASGM’ssustainable transformation:oo

In Mali and Ghana, Pact commenced two new projects with the US Department of State on“Reducing Mercury Use and Strengthening Responsible Supply Chains in [Mali’s/Ghana’s]
Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) Sector”. Kick-off for the Projects occurredin 2021, and project teams have engaged with stakeholders through a beneficiary selection
process and conducted mine site assessments to identify gold miners who will act as project
partners. Key beneficiaries have been selected in the regions/districts of Keneiba (for Mali)
and in Western and Ashanti Regions (in Ghana).
In Colombia, Pact has continued long standing relationship working with US Department ofLabor / ILAB, on a project called Pilares, which focuses on building the capacity of civilsociety to combat child labor and improve working conditions. In a separate project with
9

UNEP/ Hg/PAG.12/3

o

o

o
o

o
o

•

USAID called SCIOA, Pact is strengthening the capacity of indigenous peoples’organizations in the Amazon (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Suriname).
In Sierra Leone, Pact has commenced the “Piloting NAP Implementation in Sierra Leone”
project in 2021, funded by GIZ. The Project supports implementation of Sierra Leon’s NAP
by reducing mercury use and supporting the formalization of ASGM communities inTonkilili District.
In Mauritania, Pact commenced the “Business Pilot for Responsible Mauritanian ASM Gold”
in 2021, a three-year project funded by the European Partnership for Responsible Minerals(EPRM) which aims to establish a formal gold supply chain of responsible produced andtraded mercury-free gold. The project includes connecting ASGM gold to gold buyers basedin Europe.
In Zimbabwe, 2020/2021 Pact and UNDP partnered to support the establishment of amercury-free mineral processing plant at Umbrella Mine in Makaha, including training
miners on its operationalization.
With funding from PlanetGOLD, Pact has collaborated with NRDC and the International
Cyanide Management Institute, and others - to produce a Guidance document on BestManagement Practices for Cyanide Use in the Small-Scale Gold Mining Sector. The
guidance is directed at policymakers, ASGM practitioners, and SSM professionals.
At the global level, Pact has established and coordinated a COVID-19 working group throughits Delve platform with the World Bank, which has included coordination of assessments on
COVID-19 impacts on ASGM communities in Colombia, Kenya, Nigeria and Myanmar.
Pact developed and partnered with the University of Delaware to publish a comprehensive
Policy Assessment concerning ASM’s contributions to the SDGs (de Haan, Jorden; Dales,
Kirsten; and McQuilken, James. 2020. Mapping Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining to the
Sustainable Development Goals).

Pure Earth is currently working in Peru, Colombia and Indonesia on projects addressing mercury
pollution associated with artisanal gold mining.
o In Peru, Pure Earth has been working since 2019 with small-scale miners in Madre de Dios toreduce mercury-use and promote ecological mine closures. With the Center for Amazonian
Scientific Innovation (CINCIA), Pure Earth holds training for miners in restoration and hasreforested 8.5 hectares of degraded land. Pure Earth also works with CITE Minería y Medio
Ambiente, a Peruvian institution dedicated to cleaner mining technologies, to study local ore
characteristics and train miners in the use of shaking tables.
o In Colombia, Pure Earth has actively contributed to various projects with different
approaches, but which are complementary, achieving a comprehensive management of
ASGM operations. (1) Under funding from the United States Department of State a technicalprotocol was developed for the management of mercury-contaminated tailings and an
economically viable technique to recover mercury from tailings using silver-plated copper
plates. The protocol is intended for use by the government and stakeholders in Colombia andglobally. (2) The Pure Earth team also contributed to the implementation of planetGOLD
through UNDP. Colombia office investigated 30 contaminated sites and 35 tailings piles inColombia and developed a mercury contamination index that quantifies and ranks the healthrisks of a contaminated site using environmental samples and population demographics to
help prioritize interventions. Also, in the treatment of 90 tons for the recovery of mercury andgold, adding complementary techniques to silver-plated copper plates. (3) With funds fromthe national government through the Ministry of Mines, the characterization of 140 tailings in
8 departments is completed.
o In Indonesia, Pure Earth contributed to the implementation of planetGOLD projects relating
to an improved policy/regulatory framework for mercury-free ASGM, financing for mercuryfree processing equipment and capacity building for mercury-free ASGM. In collaboration
with the Pact Institute, the team completed assessment and capacity development ofbusinesses and financial products in the ASGM sector. In collaboration with Yayasan
Tambuhak Sinta (YTS), the team completed capacity building of government entities andstakeholders in the ASGM sector, as well as projects to empower artisanal women miners toeliminate mercury use and establish a women miners cooperative in the only alluvial miningsite of planetGOLD's six project sites in Indonesia, i.e., Kuantan Singingi, Riau. Pure Earthalso teamed up with YTS to write six modules relating to ASGM formalization, comprising:(1) Procedures for Establishing Cooperatives and Village-Owned Enterprises in ASGM
Sector; (2) Leadership in ASGM Sector; (3) Procedures for Obtaining ASGM People's
Rights; (4) Procedures for Applying for Permits and Operating Processing Facilities; (5)Mineral Processing and Waste Management in ASGM Sector; and (6) Technical Rules forCommunity Mining Permit. Training of trainers (ToT) on ASGM formalization has been

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UNEP/ Hg/PAG.12/3•

conducted in four project sites throughout 2021 and will be conducted in one project site in2022.
Satoshi Murao (Professor, Daiichi Institute of Technology). Since he joined GMP, Professor
Murao has continued his work addressing ASGM in the core areas of science, technology,
improved practices, supply chain, and outreach. For example, his team found that water-soluble
mercury is increased in concentration after forest fire in ASGM areas (Takenaka et al., in print).
o ¨Contributed scientific and technological information to the development of the document:“Sound Tailings Management in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining – TechnicalDocument (UNEP,2021)”
o Initiated in April 2021, with Waseda University, a three-year project “Interdisciplinary
Research on Mercury Pollution by the ASGM, Using the Varved Lacustrine Sediments” tounderstand long distance mercury transported from ASGM sites. The project is funded by theJapan Society for the Promotion of Science and will study lake sediments in the Philippines
and Indonesia as well as a historic ASGM site in Japan.
o In November 2021, Geological and Environmental Research Methodologies for ASGM "Present Status of Observation and Monitoring Technology Towards Risk Management of
Mercury" was jointly held by GMP and the Japanese Society of Geo-Pollution Science,
Medical Geology and Urban Geology.
o He worked with the Ministry of the Environment, Japan, mainly through its series ofinternational ASGM webinars to share Japan’s experience and knowledge on mercury andpresented in Indonesia and Myanmar.

•

Solidaridad Guyane and Minamata Disease Research Institute collaborated on a mercury
intoxication project in the French Department of Guyane and provided the population withinformation on the type of fish they should focus their diet on.

•

Sustainable Alluvial Mining Services (SAMS)oo•

Esa'ala ASGM pilot project in Papua New Guinea initiated by a local government authority
to achieve sustainable rural development driven by revenue generated from responsible
ASGM activities. The first phase (out of four) of the project included the organization of
local miners into legal mining entities and the establishment of ASGM desks. So far,registrations include two Small Scale Mining Associations, an ASGM desk created at the
district level and a female small-scale Mining Association;
SAMS Technical experts based in Australia have also created a simple gold recovering
equipment, which eliminates almost entirely the risk of spillage or loss, the risk of inhaling
mercury vapour, and the risk of environmental contamination;

Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA), Belém, Brazil: The Molecular Pharmacology Lab of
UFPA, located in the Brazilian Amazon, carried out actions aiming the following goals:
o

o

o

o

Understand state-of-art of mercury impact in the Amazon region: a scoping review evaluating
data on neurological consequences of human exposure to mercury in the Amazon, withcritical insights and recommendations, was performed to improve future epidemiologicalsurveys and prevention strategies (Ecotox. Environ. Saf. 208, 111686; doi:
10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.111686).
Contribute to the international discussion about the future consequences and studies in the
Amazon: a comprehensive review alerting about the most recent events that amplifies ASGM
impact in the Amazon was published in the journal Environment International (doi:
10.1016/j.envint.2020.106223). Also, the combination of salivary markers andneuropsychological tests has been discussed and proposed as accurate, non-invasive, andlow-cost strategies for evaluating vulnerable populations (Environ. Res. 200, 111432; doi:
10.1016/j.envres.2021.111432).
Divulgate information and provide support to judicial and legislative decisions to reduce
ASGM impact in the Amazon: elaborated an Amicus Curiae for the Supreme Court of Brazil
explaining the dangers of the Roraima State law on ASGM activities in protected lands, incollaboration with the Universidade Estadual do Amazonas and the Pontifícia UniversidadeCatólica do Paraná. This Amicus was accepted by the Court and supported its final decision
against the law. Also, participated in the public hearing to decide whether ASGM activities
would be allowed in the Tucuruí region (State of Pará), providing epidemiological data that
demonstrated human exposure to mercury.
Increase technical expertise and qualified human resources in the Amazon: led the creationand implementation of the first PhD program in toxicology and biochemistry in the Brazilian
Amazon including specific research projects on mercury and ASGM impacts that will allow
to reinforce the healthcare system and the technical capacity to deal with the problem in loco.
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UNEP/ Hg/PAG.12/3

o•University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Activities included:
o

o

o
o
o

o
o
o
•

Part of the Consultant Group studying for the Government of Ghana the feasibility of
implementing a Training Center for Artisanal Miners in Tarkwa and produced a report which
encompasses design of the center, list of equipment, suggestions of sources of income,strategy of teaching, personnel, business plan, cashflow, etc.
Laboratory studies of unconventional methods to extract gold from gravity and flotation
concentrates using bitter cassava, simplified cyanidation and organic extraction (no water).
Results are very promising ranging from over 50% to 100% extraction. Students aresearching for bitter cassavas with higher levels of glycosides in the Amazon.
Elaboration of an extensive review article on Gravity Concentration Methods in Artisanal
Gold Mining explaining the pros and cons of each procedure.
Elaboration of detailed inventory of coexistence of Artisanal Gold Mining (AGM) andConventional Gold Mining (CGM) companies.
Elaboration of a list of problems faced by many projects when trying to eliminate the use of
mercury in AGM, published at: Veiga, M.M. and Fadina, O. (2020). A review of the failed
attempts to curb mercury use at artisanal gold mining and a proposed solution. Extrac. Ind.
Soc. 7, 1135-1146.
Consulting for UNDP Indonesia and the Government of Indonesia on methods to eliminate
mercury in AGM.
Classes to the Association of Small-scale miners of Peru on mercury-free methods to extract
gold.
Elaboration of a study on the legislations related to AGM in the 9 Amazonian countries. Thisis pointing out the hurdles to formalize AGM.

University of Illinois at Chicago, Great Lakes Center for Occupational and Environmental
HealthooDeveloped a curriculum for primary healthcare providers on mercury poisoning and otheradverse health effects related to ASGM, which is available on the Partnership website 13.
Currently working on a biosensor system for mercury testing in biological fluids that will
hopefully become a point-of-care test in 1 to 2 years.

c)Planned future activities include:•

As some countries are finalizing the development of their NAPs, the Partnership area will focus
on activities that support implementation of these plans, as well as continue to support sharing of
NAP experience among governments, including through the planetGOLD programme andnumerous bilateral activities.
The Partnership area has had some success attracting more private sector partners and willcontinue to foster their greater collaboration and engagement.
The Partnership area will continue to act as a critical information-sharing mechanism amongst
Parties to the Convention.

•
•

2)

Develop proposals for nudge interventions, tailored to the characteristics of the Amazonian
remote/isolated populations affected by ASGM (Foods 10, 1015; doi:
10.3390/foods10051015)

Mercury cell chlor-alkali productiona)

The objectives of the Partnership area are to:

•
•
•
•

Prevent the construction of new mercury-cell chlor-alkali production facilities;
Reduce mercury emissions and use from existing mercury-cell facilities;
Encourage conversion to non-mercury processes;
Reduce or eliminate mercury releases from waste generated by chlor-alkali production facilities
including waste from conversion to non-mercury processes; andPromote environmentally sound options for storage of surplus mercury to limit downstream
releases from surplus mercury generated by the conversion, phase-out, or closure of mercury-cellchlor-alkali facilities.

•

13 https://www.unep.org/globalmercurypartnership/resources/tool/artisanal-and-small-scale-gold-mining-

curriculum-health-sector
12

UNEP/ Hg/PAG.12/3b) Key activities in the Partnership area are presented below.
•

•

•
•

c)

Planned future activities include:•

Reviewing and updating the chlor-alkali business plan for 2022 to reflect the current global
landscape as it relates to the chlor-alkali sector;
The Partnership areas on mercury cell chlor-alkali production and on mercury waste management
are considering hosting joint webinars to address the needs and challenges faced by chlor-alkali
producers both for financing of the conversion process and for addressing the management anddisposal of mercury wastes;Continuing to collect more information from countries on ongoing and potential conversion
projects;
Providing technology advice for potential chlor-alkali conversions;
Facilitating the acquisition of financing for promising potential conversion projects;
Increasing focus on collecting and sharing current knowledge and best practices in the
management and disposal of stocks for converted facilities, for example by increasing crosspartnership collaboration, especially with the Partnership areas on mercury supply and storageand on mercury waste management.

•

•
•
•
•

3)

UNEP and Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), andCYDSA, S.A de C.V (private sector) continue to refine final details of a potential GEF-funded
project to convert/decommission two remaining mercury cell chlor-alkali facilities in Mexico,
including plans for the management of mercury waste and contaminated sites related to the two
facilities. The GEF approved the project in June 2020. Project development has experienced somedelays due to COVID-19.
ABICLOR and CLOROSUR, on behalf of the chlor-alkali Partnership area, have beencoordinating efforts to assist the remaining four chlor-alkali plants in Brazil to phase-out mercury
from their operations. These efforts have included facilitating the search of funds for both
replacement with membrane facilities and treatment, as well as stabilization and disposal(storage) of the mercury wastes. COVID-19 has complicated project financing, delaying further
development of the project.
The Partnership area participated in a contaminated sites workshop hosted by Mexico’s Instituto
para la Protección Ambiental de Nuevo León where they presented on topics related to the
managing mercury contaminated sites in the chlor-alkali sector.
The Partnership area held its annual meeting in February 2022, amongst others to consider theBusiness Plan, update on Partnership area activities, and identify Partnership area priorities for2022.14

Mercury air transport and fate researcha)The main objective of the Partnership area is to increase global understanding of international
mercury emissions sources, fate and transport, by:•

Accelerating the development of sound scientific information to address uncertainties and data
gaps in global mercury cycling and its patterns (e.g., emission sources, air concentrations anddeposition rates, source-receptor relationships, hemispheric-global air transport/transformation,
mercury in biota and spatial and temporal variations driven by ecosystem sensitivity);
Enhancing compilation and sharing of such information among scientists as well as between
them and policy makers.

•

The specific objectives are:
• To support the implementation of the Minamata Convention and the development of a globally
coordinated database and monitoring system for measuring mercury levels in air, marine andterrestrial ecosystem, which may contribute to assess the effectiveness of measures taken;• To assist relevant stakeholders involved, including Parties to implement the necessary actions tofulfil the requirements of the Convention and its objectives;• To gather up-to-date information on mercury contamination worldwide and support capacity
building activities to transfer knowledge on mercury monitoring and best practices to all relevant
stakeholders involved;
14 https://www.unep.org/globalmercurypartnership/events/unep-event/partnership-area-mercury-cell-chlor-alkali-

production-2022-meeting
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UNEP/ Hg/PAG.12/3•

To facilitate the dialogue between the scientific community, policy makers and other relevant
stakeholders.

b) Key activities in the Partnership area include:
To support the preparation of the Mercury Monitoring Guidance Document for COP4
(activities led by BRI):••

Support the generation of Chapter 6 (on biota mercury) of the Mercury Monitoring GuidanceDocument in preparation for COP4 and assist with other Chapters as requested by the Secretariatof the Minamata Convention. The Global Biotic Mercury Synthesis (GBMS) is a data basis forthis report.
Support by Partnership area members as expert reviewers for Chapter 6.

To support countries and intergovernmental organizations to improve mercury assessment andmonitoring capabilities (activities led by BRI):
•
•
•

•
•
•

Coordinate and assist countries with their Minamata Initial Assessments (MIAs) - 26 out of 37
have been completed.
Review completed MIAs under contract with UNEP, before their onward submission to theSecretariat of the Minamata Convention and provide feedback to the Implementing Agencies andfocal points of the Country.
Develop country projects where the use of skin-lightening products is reduced and their sale andimport in line with obligations of the Minamata Convention in coordination with the Partnershiparea on mercury in products. One GEF project is being implemented with UNEP as theimplementing agency and WHO as a co-executing agency with BRI;
Assist with the initiation of regional networks in the context of projects supported by the SpecificInternational Programme, such as the Caribbean Region Mercury Monitoring Network –overseen by Antigua and Barbuda and potentially others in central Africa and southern Asia;
Provide add-on value support to countries that may want to initiate preliminary mercury
monitoring efforts with Passive Air Samplers, biota and human biomonitoring;
Generate communication pieces to enhance the understanding of policymakers of scientificfindings, on topics such as mercury monitoring of air, biota, humans and certain products.

To facilitate the dialogue between the Partnership area and on-going programmes such as GEO
Flagship on “Global Observation System for Mercury - GOS4M” (activities led by CNR):
•
•
•
•
•
•

Increase the availability and quality of Earth Observation data and information to contribute to
the tracking of mercury released to the global environment and, where appropriate, anticipatechanges to the environment;
Harmonize metadata production, archiving and sharing data from existing mercury monitoring
networks; and develop advanced services (e.g., access to air mercury monitoring data) in supportof policy mandate through the Minamata Convention;
Develop automated robotic systems for monitoring Hg, among other parameters, in air, topsoil
and top-water microlayer to better understand the cycle of this pollutant at the air-water/topsoil
interfaces;
Facilitate cooperation of governments and institutions tracking persistent pollutants;
Foster the adoption of advanced sensors in monitoring mercury and its compounds;
Prepare, archive and share metadata.

To promote continuous studies on mercury contamination in air and marine compartmentswith reference to several ad-hoc field campaigns organized and carried out in different partsof the world (activities led by CNR):• In this framework, the I-SEED project (https://iseedproject.eu) FET PROACT-EIC-08-2020
Environmental Intelligence Research and Innovation Action - Grant Agreement n. 101017940) is
aimed to develop robotic system made with biodegradable materials able to provide continuous
monitoring data of Hg, CO2, RH and T in air and topsoil. The project is part of GOS4M and is
aimed to support the goal of the MCM and its global monitoring plan implementation.
• ERA-PLANET is an ERA-NET Co-funded action under the EU H2020, started in 2016, as partof the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and Copernicus (www.copernicus.eu). It will end in
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UNEP/ Hg/PAG.12/3•

January 2022. A final project meeting was held on 20-21 October 2021 to present its major
outcomes to stakeholders and policy makers.
Within ERA-PLANET programme, the projects iGOSP (www.igosp.eu) and iCUPE(www.atm.helsinki.fi/icupe) have been developed and are under implementation. Within iGOSP
a fully interoperable knowledge hub (GOS4M KH, www.gos4m.org) was developed (De Simone
et al. 2021a, b – in Env. Sci. & Policy) to better understand the dynamic processes affecting thefate of mercury emissions to the atmosphere to ecosystems and leaving organisms and ultimately
its impact on human health. This platform built-in GOS4M Knowledge Hub will make available
all mercury data gathered from ongoing mercury monitoring programmes.

To develop a global web-based platform for existing and new mercury data (activities led by
BRI):
•

•

•

The overarching goal of this project is to provide contributions toward advancing guidance on
monitoring data and harmonized, comparable information on mercury concentrations in theenvironment, which may support the effectiveness evaluation discussions under the Minamata
Convention;
Project objectives are to: (1) Establish a Science-Policy Advisory Panel to guide the project,support quality control, and facilitate outreach, while working through the Partnership area withmember participation; (2) Assess web-based Global Knowledge Platforms that best fulfil theneeds of Parties and associated stakeholders of the Minamata Convention; (3) Generate acentralized database for existing mercury concentrations in biota (based on GBMS); (4) Identify
a suite of queries collated from Parties and other stakeholders of the Minamata Convention; (5)Work with data providers, information technology experts, end-users, and other stakeholders todesign and develop a functional online platform that meets identified interests; (6) Conduct
testing of the platform capabilities, including data acquisition, data ingestion, data quality
control, information synthesis, data query, and data visualization and implement any needed
improvements based on the testing, leading to the development of a final version of theknowledge platform. Approvals and consultations are still pending with GEF-STAP and UNEP.
Consultations with the Minamata Secretariat are expected.

Passive air sampling for mercury on a global scale. Activities included and led by Environment
and Climate Change Canada (ECCC):•

ECCC is leading a global passive air pilot study for the collection of atmospheric mercury
concentrations. The intent of this study is to assess the feasibility and comparability of new
sampling technology on a global scale in conjunction with currently deployed active and passive
mercury sampling investigations by other research/monitoring groups. This project is employing
the MerPAS® sampler produced by Tekran Instruments Corp. This technique collects gas phasemercury on a sulfur-impregnated activated carbon sorbent. The samplers are shipped to site
locations and are deployed for 3-month time periods. Following deployment, they are shippedback to the laboratory at ECCC for analysis. Results from this study will be openly available tothe public and housed on the ECCC Open Data Portal.

•

While considerable mercury monitoring in the atmosphere has taken place in the past two
decades, there remain many regions where there is little to no information. The intent of thisstudy is to attempt to fill the gaps in monitoring information by collaborating with currently
operating air monitoring networks to initiate or continue atmospheric mercury monitoring using
this passive sampling technology. The intent is not to create new networks in various regions but
to use the current facilities and infrastructures that exist to add this type of sampling. In essence,creating a “global network of networks”. The current networks that we have partnered with anddeployed samples to include the Environment and Climate Change Canada Arctic Nework, , theGlobal Atmospheric Passive Sampling (GAPS) network, the Asia Pacific Mercury Monitoring
Network (APMMN), and the National Atmospheric Deposition Network (NADP). In the future,other known networks will be approached to explore possible partnership, including the
Caribbean Mercury Monitoring Network (CMMN), the Latin American Passive Air Sampling
Network (LAPAN), the Global Mercury Observation System network (GMOS), the RECETOX
driven Monitoring NETwork (MONET) programme in Africa, the European Monitoring and
Evaluation Programme (EMEP) and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme(AMAP). To date, we have partners with 55 sites around the world in 28 countries and deployed
285 samplers.

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c)Planned future activities are as follows:• Partners of the Partnership area are working on projects that can contribute specifically to
Articles 1, 19 and 22 of the Minamata Convention but are not limited to these Articles. Such
activities include the development of data collection and synthesis, field assessments, and thedevelopment of mercury monitoring networks that can contribute toward a global understandingof mercury, as well as towards discussions on effectiveness evaluation under the Mercury
Convention.
• Efforts are particularly well established for air mercury data collection and monitoring throughthe GOS4M Flagship of the Group on Earth Observations and biota mercury monitoring basedon the Global Biotic Mercury Synthesis (GBMS) database that will be published and also madeavailable through a web-based interactive platform. GBMS is the only database that synthesizes
over 1,400 peer-reviewed publications about mercury in biota that contributes to nearly 800,000
mercury data points for taxa identified in Article 19 (e.g., fish, sea turtles, birds and marine
mammals).
• The newly established Caribbean Mercury Monitoring Network could be an example of regional
network that members of the Partnership area could develop, especially in areas that have been
identified with major data gaps yet have identified or projected elevated environmental mercury
loads that may infringe on ecological and human health.
• The Partnership area, through BRI, is also exploring cooperation with the academic sector
through a research project aimed at the identification and spatiotemporal visualisation of the
impacts of mercury contamination (threat) on the environment and human health through acharacterisation of ecosystem sensitivity and risks contamination of biota. The project would
comprise in-depth field investigations and sampling, in Gabon and potentially Cameroon, toenable data production and analysis for the development of an interactive database andcommunication tool, supporting informed decision-making to implement the Minamata
Convention.
4)

Mercury in productsa)The objectives of the Partnership area are to phase-out and eventually eliminate mercury inproducts and to eliminate releases during manufacturing and other industrial processes via
environmentally sound production, transportation, storage, and disposal processes.

b) Key activities in the Partnership area include:• Report on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System: COP-3 Decision
MC-3/3 directed the Partnership area, as well as relevant experts, to draft a guidance document
for consideration at COP 4 on the use of customs codes for monitoring the import and export ofmercury-added products, including: (1) for the mercury-added products listed in Annex A to theConvention, a list of possible customs nomenclature codes of more than six digits that could be
used by Parties; (2) for mercury-added products not listed in Annex A to the Convention, acompilation of examples provided by national experts of customs nomenclature codes of morethan six digits currently in use by Parties; (3) examples of good practice where the use ofcustoms nomenclature codes at the national level has been supplemented by the use of othercontrol tools for the purpose of implementing trade provisions, such as those found in Article 4
to the Convention.; and (4) an assessment of whether the subsequent development of six-digit
harmonized codes would be a useful complement to codes of more than six digits. That decisionalso requested the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention to circulate an open call to all Parties,
non-Parties and other stakeholders, including relevant organizations, to identify experts familiar
with the use of national customs codes to participate in the open-ended process.
A draft guidance document (UNEP/MC/COP.4/27) and an information document(UNEP/MC/COP.4/INF/5) on the use of more mercury-specific customs codes have beendeveloped as requested at COP3. This guidance describes the use of customs codes formonitoring and controlling the import and export of mercury-added products pursuant to Article
4 of the Convention. The document builds on the previous report (submitted to COP-3), and,pursuant to the discussion of the Parties at COP-3, proposes a mechanism, once finalized, forcountries wishing to use common customs codes for the implementation of Article 4. In thesubmissions from various Parties there were very few ten-digit statistical codes proposed or
already in use for these products (eight-digit tariff codes were provided in most cases).
Considering relevant product descriptions, the 2021 report proposes ten-digit customs
nomenclature codes for Annex A products in cases where none had been indicated by Parties.
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UNEP/ Hg/PAG.12/3

The ten-digit codes have been proposed in the report both for consistency and to minimize theneed for Parties to reconsider their current eight-digit codes. The overarching goal of thisinitiative, if implemented, is to help facilitate the phase-out of the mercury-added products listed
in Part 1 of Annex A of the Convention.
In addition, enhancing the quantity and quality of data generated by the Harmonized System
could allow for the collection of information distinguishing between mercury-added and nonmercury added products, which would facilitate implementation of Article 4, ease and improveoverall reporting, assist compliance and foster better communication among trading partners.
• Mercury in Products-Specific Webinars: In a continuing effort to provide outreach on thechallenges and lessons-learned in global efforts to assess mercury-added product phase-out
potential, including discussions of mercury-free alternatives, the Partnership areas on mercury inproducts and waste management, as well as interested partners conducted a webinar on mercuryadded lamps in December 2021. A future webinar on dental amalgam is currently being
considered. These efforts would seek to build on the successes of the Partnership area webinars
on mercury-added medical devices and cosmetics conducted in 2020 in cooperation with WHO
and the Zero Mercury Working Group.
• Mercury-Added Product Reduction Projects in Kenya, Ivory Coast, India, Bangladesh and
the Philippines (European Environmental Bureau/Zero Mercury Working Group(EEB)/ZMWG): EEB/ZMWG and partner organizations in Kenya, Ivory Coast, India,
Bangladesh, and the Philippines supported efforts by their governments to carry out mercuryadded product reduction and phase out projects, including the following:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

Conduct of studies of alternatives to mercury-added products;
Outreach/workshop to customs officials on Article 4 provisions;
Procurement of mercury-free alternative products in hospitals and assistance to hospitals
vis-à-vis the environmental management of storage/disposal of mercury added measuring
devices.
Development of draft “road maps” to phase out mercury-added products;
Identified importance of Article 4 awareness raising activities, particularly for traders,manufacturers and producers;
Support for development of legal gap analysis for mercury-added products; andSupport towards ratification.

• Skin-Lightening Cream Campaign (ZMWG): ZMWG collaboration with NGOs worldwide
has continued and a third regional testing hub was established in Antigua and Barbuda (to cover
North, Central and Latin America), in addition to the two existing regional testing hubs in thePhilippines (to cover Asia), and Ivory Coast (to cover Africa) in order to facilitate the testing of
online products previously determined by the government analysis to have high mercury levels.
oooThe results of the last sampling round carried out in 201915 showed some progress toward
compliance with the Minamata Convention when internet platforms Amazon, eBay, Lazada,
Jumia (Africa), and Daraz (Asia) responded positively to a request to take down the highmercury creams containing levels well over 1 part per million.
A new round of sampling of skin-lightening cream products for mercury started in
November 2020 and was completed in 2021. Samples have been collected and tested from17 countries, with the assistance of the ZMWG network. Results will be presented in 2022.
Monitoring work was completed in 2021, building on prior results from 2019, including
checking availability of skin lightening products on e-platforms on a bi-monthly basis. It
also included highlighting the enforcement report16 and identifying national capacity-needs
in terms of enforcement. A questionnaire and a complementary supportive information
document were developed to assist this work. Most important to highlight is the continuouspresence of potentially high mercury creams in the e-platforms and the necessity to reformthe on-line platforms’ third-party liability regime.

• Capacity building related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEA) in African,
Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Countries - Phase 3 (ACP-MEA's) project: Under this new
project which began at the end of 2020, the EEB/ZMWG is focusing its work on the formulationof specific strategies in selected ACP countries for addressing the mercury-added product phase
15 https://www.zeromercury.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Dangerous-mercury-laden-and-often-illegal-skin-lightening-products-readily-available-for-online-purchase.pdf
16 https://www.zeromercury.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Enforcement-measures-to-restrict-high-mercurycosmetic-products-under-the-Minamata-Convention.pdf
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out provisions under Article 4 of the Minamata Convention. Activities are targeted mainly in the
Caribbean and African regions. In the Caribbean EEB/ZMWG is collaborating with CARICOM
and BCRC.
•

The EEB/ZMWG under the ACP MEAs III programme has established memorandum of
understanding with the governments of Trinidad and Tobago (TTO), Antigua and Barbuda(ATG) and St. Kitts and Nevis (SKN), to carry out work towards phasing out mercury added
products. In summary the activities, which are in their early stages of development, will focus on
the following areas:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Developing a roadmap for phasing out mercury-added products
Carrying out market studies of mercury-free alternatives
Assessing/focusing institutional capacity
Developing a strategy on mercury-free product procurement
Developing a pilot project on single stream product management
Supporting the development of the National Implementation Plan

• In Africa, activities have been ongoing with NGO partners from Kenya and Nigeria in
supporting the implementation and enforcement of Article 4 provisions.
c)Planned future activities include:•

Continuing to support efforts related to the report on HS codes initiative (including throughcoordinating meetings and assisting in sharing materials);
Exploring organizational modifications to enhance operations of the Partnership area;
Continuing to identify and promote viable, available and cost-effective alternatives to mercuryadded products;
Compiling a list of projects and other publicly available resources on mercury-added products andalternatives; andSharing the progress of the U.S. mercury inventory and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
recommendations for certain high-risk populations regarding mercury-added dental amalgam17.

•
•
•
•

5)

Mercury releases from coal combustiona)

The objective of the Partnership area is the continued minimization and elimination of mercury
releases from coal combustion where possible. It also aims to provide technically soundinformation on cost effective approaches for enhancing reductions of mercury emissions,particularly for developing countries and countries with economies in transition. No numericaltargets are established for the Partnership area.

b) Key activities in the Partnership area include:
The International Centre for Sustainable Carbon (ICSC, formerly IEACCC; Co-lead of thePartnership area) won a US State Department NOFO project to evaluate and reduce mercury
emissions from the coal combustion sector in India and Indonesia18.
For Indonesia, the project is comprised of three phases:•

Phase 1: evaluation of mercury emissions from all coal-fired plants, current and impending, inorder to rank the plants and identify three for closer investigation with respect to emission
reduction strategies. This Phase is now complete, and the results have been published in a report,
which is available from the ICSC website19. The three selected plants have agreed to collaborate
with the project, along with the Ministry of Minerals and Energy Resources (MEMR) and
Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MOEF).

•

Phase 2: calling on the Partnership area and other interested Parties to focus on the configurationof the three selected plants in order to collate a “catalogue” of potential mercury reduction
techniques and technologies, especially options which can be replicated across the rest of the

18 Further information on this work is available from the website: https://www.sustainable-carbon.org/outreach-programme/
19https://www.sustainable-carbon.org/outreach-programme/
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UNEP/ Hg/PAG.12/3

coal fleet. Delivery of mercury monitoring and training workshops to Indonesian stakeholders
and plant operators, with partners providing some of this training and insight. This phase of work
will proceed as soon as COVID-19 related travel limitations are lifted.
•

Phase 3: determination of potential funding and cost-leveraging options available to movemercury reduction policies and projects into practice in Indonesia. This may be the mostchallenging phase of the project since it is clear that most international funding agencies are
moving away from funding fossil fuels. However, it is hoped that some funding and co-financecan be identified to help actualise at least one full-scale retrofit. Members of the Partnership area
proposed a USTDA project to further develop bankable demonstration projects for mercury
reduction in Indonesia. The proposal has passed the first round of review and the Partnershiparea will be updated if and when the project is given full approval.
For India, the project focuses on capacity building and training on mercury emission monitoring
and control through three pillars of work:•

Pillar 1 – Emissions monitoring at coal plants. The new emission limits for particulate matter(PM), SO2, NOx and mercury in India require associated means to ensure that plants comply withthese limits. The National Pollution Control Board (NPCB) in India now requires that individual
coal-fired units install CEM (continuous emission monitoring) systems on all units to reportemission data electronically, in real-time, to the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCB).
Guidelines have been issued, which require CEM systems to be installed in such a way that
remote calibration can confirm CEM performance and data tampering is avoided. This is, intheory, a good way to ensure that plant emissions can be policed, and appropriate actions can betaken swiftly to curb exceedances. However, in practice, the system faces several challenges.
The figure below shows the status of installation of CEM systems across the coal power fleet inIndia, based on data reviewed by the ICSC.

For all pollutants, fewer than half of the coal units have CEM systems in place. Over and above
this, between 3 and 10% of the fleet are reporting technical issues with the systems they have inplace for PM, SO2 and NOx (there are few, if any, plants with emission monitoring for mercury
in place).
In practice, this means that well over half of the coal-plants in India are unable to determine
whether they are in compliance with the emission standards. If the emission standards are toachieve the desired reduction in emissions and improvement in air quality, then it is imperativethat steps are taken to resolve these monitoring and reporting challenges.
•

Pillar 2 - Reducing emissions and improving ash management.

•

Pillar 3 - Flexibility in operating coal plants. This pillar builds upon a previous project between
the USDOE, USAID, EPRI and NTPC in India which developed a toolkit to maximize theflexibility of coal-fired power plants. The current project has identified the potential for theflexibility toolkit in India and has designed a programme to deliver hands-on training.

The Partnership area is now working with Indian stakeholders to deliver training and capacity
building on emissions monitoring. It is hoped that four regional workshops can be held in India overthe next 12-18 months. More details will be provided on the ICSC website once these events are
finalised.
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In April 2021, the GEF CEO approved a medium-scale UNEP project entitled: “Assessment ofexisting and future emissions reduction from the coal sector toward the implementation of the
Minamata and Stockholm Conventions” to be executed by the Partnership area leads, Macquarie
University and the ICSC, with expertise and input from the Partnership area. Uniquely this new
project will address implementation of the Minamata and Stockholm Conventions, and also be alignedwith the commitments countries make under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC). This project commenced in October 2021, and consists of two components:••

A comprehensive coal sectoral analysis, which will review scientific data on
mercury/POPs/GHGs from the coal sector and estimate future emissions in the light of the
UNFCCC Paris Agreement commitments and targets.
The synthesis of strategies, including policy guidance, for the coal sector’s emissions reduction
contribution to the Stockholm and Minamata Conventions.

The project will engage extensively with international stakeholders, including UNEP, the UNEP
Global Mercury Partnership, the International Centre for Sustainable Carbon, Parties and Secretariats
to the Stockholm and Minamata Conventions, and relevant civil society groups. A project initiation
workshop is planned for March 2022.
The Partnership area held its annual meeting in September 2021, in an online setting. Amongst others,
the meeting welcomed new partners, discussed recent and upcoming activities, events and projects.
Participants were also be provided with an overview of the above-mentioned GEF project andexchanged on potential contribution by the Partnership area and partners. The meeting also offered a
deep dive into the Interactive Process Optimization Guidance (iPOG) 20.
Outreach: The Partnership area contributed to the Minamata Online series of event, and co-organizedwith the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention and the International Conference on Mercury as a
Global Pollutant a Webinar on “Mercury emission from coal”, providing amongst others a summaryof the project work in Asia, in November 202121.
c)Planned future activities include:•

Contribution of the Partnership area to a plenary on “Mercury Emissions from Industrial Sources”
at the 15th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP-15) to be held
online in July 2022.
Hosting of a half-day workshop ahead of the ICMGP online event in July. This workshop will
focus on giving hands-on training with the iPOG mercury emission estimation tool. However,there may also be time for short presentations relating to mercury emissions monitoring in fluegases. Relevant partners will be invited to contribute to this event.

•6)

Mercury waste managementa)

The objective of the Partnership area is to promote the environmentally sound management of
mercury wastes by developing and disseminating relevant materials, enhancing capacities andawareness and providing specific solutions at the global, regional and local levels.

b) Key activities under this Partnership area include:
Partnership area meetings: The mercury waste management area (WMA) held three meetings
during the period of December 2020 to February 2022. The primary objectives of these meetings
were to review ongoing activities by the Partnership area and consider future ones; identify
technologies and services on mercury waste management that partners can provide andchallenges on mercury waste management that countries have faced in order to promote
matchmaking; explore opportunities for collaborative works with other Partnership areas anddevelop the WMA activity plan for 2021-202322.
Catalogue of Technologies and Services on Mercury Waste Management: The Catalogue has
been developed to disseminate information on technologies, products and services of partners
20 https://www.unep.org/globalmercurypartnership/events/unep-event/partnership-area-mercury-releases-coal-

combustion-2021-meeting
21 https://www.unep.org/globalmercurypartnership/events/unep-event/minamata-online-season-2-webinarmercury-emission-coal
22 Further information on meetings held may be found at: https://www.unep.org/globalmercurypartnership/events
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UNEP/ Hg/PAG.12/3

related to mercury waste management. It has been updated annually and the latest version isavailable on the Partnership website23.
Survey to identify the needs for technologies and services on mercury waste management:
In considering future activities, the WMA conducted a survey in 2021 to mainly identify specifictypes of treatment operations and processes of mercury waste and relevant measures that require
enhanced actions for the environmentally sound waste management. The questionnaire wascirculated among WMA Partners and other Partnership areas through the Secretariat of thePartnership in January and February 2021. As a result, 41 responses from governments,
industries, NGOs, IGOs, and academia were received.
The responses to the survey highlighted that the management of wastes containing mercury or
mercury compounds, particularly waste from fluorescent lights and from measuring devices, wasthe utmost challenge among the three types of mercury wastes defined under Article 11 of the
Minamata Convention. In addition, respondents indicated challenges at every phase of themercury waste management process, especially at collection. Types of support requested fromthe WMA included capacity-building, technical assistance, regulatory arrangement, developmentof guidance and tools, financial resources and project development.
The results of the survey were shared at the Partnership area meeting in March 2021 to consider
future activities of the WMA24.
Waste Management Area Activity Plan (2022-2024): At its March 2021 meeting, thePartnership area agreed to develop its Activity Plan for 2022-2024, taking into account theresults of the survey. After the meeting, leads developed a draft activity plan including a“Response List” which describes needs identified through the survey and corresponding
resources already available in order to explore gaps that the WMA could potentially fill. The
draft WMA activity plan also includes prospective activities that the WMA will implement in thearea of capacity-building, update of currently available resources and solution exchange.
Working Group to promote the management of mercury wastes: At its July 2021 meeting,the Partnership area agreed to establish three working groups focusing on “development and/or
refinement of currently available resources”, “capacity-building and awareness-raising” and“solution-exchange” under the WMA. Accordingly, members of each working group nominatedleader(s) and developed draft work plans for 2022-2024, taking into account the Waste
Management Area Activity Plan (2022-2024).
As part of the deliverable of the working group on “capacity-building and awareness-raising”,
the Partnership area organized an online information-sharing session in February 2022 entitled“Treating Mercury Wastes: Tools and Technologies” 25. The event presented available resources
and showcased technologies for treating mercury wastes, featuring experience in different partsof the world.
Collaboration with other Partnership areas: The WMA and Mercury in Products area jointly
organized an online information-sharing session dedicated to the phase out of mercurycontaining lamps on 7 December 2021 to explore options for an effective transition away fromthese products, their substitution as well as management and disposal once they become waste 26.
c)Planned future activities for 2022 – 2024 include (but are not limited to):•Development of Factsheets on the Environmentally Sound Management of Mercury Wastes incollaboration with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) intended to provide for
specific types of mercury wastes a practical and comprehensive overview of the different
measures at every step of the waste management process, while complementing the technicalguidelines for the environmentally sound management of mercury wastes under the Basel
Convention.
Mapping or developing a list of mercury wastes treatment facilities around the world.
Organization of joint webinars with other Partnership areas, especially mercury supply andstorage to address excess mercury from the decommissioning of chlor-alkali facilities.

••

23 https://web.unep.org/globalmercurypartnership/catalogue-technologies-and-services-mercury-waste-management-2021-version
24 https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/35795/WMAP.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y
25 https://www.unep.org/globalmercurypartnership/events/unep-event/webinar-treating-mercury-wastes-tools-andtechnologies-15-february-2022
26 https://www.unep.org/globalmercurypartnership/events/unep-event/webinar-phasing-out-mercury-added-lamps7-december-2021
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UNEP/ Hg/PAG.12/3•

7)

Formulation and implementation of a solution exchange platform including its pilot phase related
to challenges on mercury waste management, where stakeholders can inquire for solutions andreceive corresponding feedback from identified relevant resource-providers to facilitate
matchmaking.

Mercury supply and storagea)

The overall objective of the Partnership area is to minimize and where feasible, eliminate mercury
supply considering a hierarchy of sources, and retire mercury from the market forenvironmentally sound management. In practice, it aims to:••

Eliminate the production and export of mercury from relevant mercury supply sources;
Determine how much mercury will become available from primary mining, decommissioning of
mercury chlor-alkali plants and the quantity of by-product mercury generated from non-ferrous
metal processing, gold mining as well as oil and gas production; andCollect and disseminate information on options and technologies for storage or final disposal ofexcess mercury supply from the different sources.

•b) Key activities in the Partnership area include:
Study report on “Mercury from Oil and Gas”. The International Society of Doctors for theEnvironment (ISDE), commissioned by the Secretariat, is preparing the final version of thisreport. Spain and Uruguay, as Partnership area leads, have collaborated in the preparation of thisreport. This work identifies possible sources and releases of mercury derived from these
activities and the fate of mercury, including considerations on the amount of mercury from this
sector that could enter the informal market.
Mercury Supply and Storage Area Meeting 2021. Held on 25 February 2021, the meeting was
an opportunity to exchange information and identify the needs and future activities of thePartnership area27. Participants were provided an update by the Partnership Secretariat on overall
activities under the Partnership as well as by the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention on
issues related to mercury supply sources and storage under the Convention. Participants
subsequently engaged in an information-sharing session on mercury supply sources as well as on
options and availability of infrastructures and techniques for the management, storage and final
disposal of surplus mercury. Discussions were then held on the priorities of the Partnership area
as well as on possible future workshops and meetings.
GEF-7 Proposal: “Accelerate Minamata Convention compliance through improved
understanding and control of mercury trade in Latin America”. The leads of the Partnershiparea provided technical contributions and comments to UNEP in the development of a project
proposal dedicated to understanding and reducing the flow of mercury in the Latin American and
Caribbean region.
Participation in meetings organized by other Partnership areas. The Partnership area has
attended to a number of other area meetings to which it provided input and information.
Technical Protocol for Managing Contaminated Tailings with Mercury in Colombia. Pure
Earth Colombia has been working, together with the principal governmental agencies of thecountry, on a protocol that addresses important aspects of the handling and storage of mercury.
Development of Capacity for the Substitution and the Environmentally Sound
Management (ESM) of Mercury-containing Medical Measuring Devices. Implemented by
the Asian Institute of Technology in the ASEAN Member States, this project aims at preventing
the adverse impacts of mercury contained in used thermometers and sphygmomanometers.
The Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer for the
Caribbean (BCRC-Caribbean) has been involved in planned activities through the following
projects:•

GEF 10472: Implementing Sustainable Low and Non-chemical Development in Small
Island Developing States (ISLANDS) Child Project. Pending approval, tentative activities
include the assessment of the storage mechanisms for mercury previously used at chlor-

27 https://web.unep.org/globalmercurypartnership/mercury-supply-and-storage-partnership-area-2021-meeting

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c)Planned future activities include:••

Organize an area meeting to organize a set of workshops with Partners.
Collaborate with industry for the environmentally sound management and storage of mercury inthe sectors of chlor-alkali, non-ferrous and gas production.
Collaborate with the Partnership area on mercury waste management to further consider the issueof the sound disposal of mercury waste generated by the oil and gas and non-ferrous metals
smelting sectors and how much (if any) of this waste may enter the informal mercury market.
Collaborate with relevant stakeholders in developing guidance to ensure the mercury
requisitioned by local authorities is safely disposed of and remains properly stored.
Enhance the collaboration between members of the Partnership area and welcome new members
by holding an online meeting at the beginning of 2022, with the collaboration of the Secretariat.
Promote the replication of successful workshops.
Promote transparency and traceability throughout the whole life cycle of mercury, including
supply source, trade and export, to address potential illegal sources of mercury supply.

•
•
•
•
•

8)

alkali plants in Cuba and determining whether the mechanisms are adequate to prevent
environmental contamination in The Bahamas, Cuba and Dominica.
GEF 10153: Development of National Action Plan for Artisanal and Small-scale Gold
Mining in the Co-operative Republic of Guyana (Guyana NAP). Activities included anassessment to identify the sources and supply of mercury used in the national ASGM sector.

Mercury releases from the cement industrya)

The objective of the Partnership area is to minimize mercury releases to the environment from
cement manufacture. It aims to supplement existing programmes in key, strategically selected
ways to ensure that reductions are globally significant.

Partnership area work was kicked off at the annual meeting held on 8 December 2021, where Zaigham
Abbas (Ministry of Climate Change, Pakistan) was designated to serve as co-lead together with Claude
Lorea (Global Cement and Concrete Association - GCCA). Participants considered the currently
identified priorities of the Partnership area, namely, to support the establishment of sectoral mercury
inventories; to encourage the use of most appropriate techniques to reduce or minimize mercury
emissions and releases; and to reach out and raise awareness on the topic.
b) While key objectives and priorities of the Partnership area had remained unchanged since its
establishment in 2013, the Business Plan required update on a number of items, including withregards to partners efforts and timelines, opportunities, resource mobilization, business planning
process, linkages as well as the list of potential partners. The Partnership area will be reviewing
the Business Plan in 2022.
c)
•
•
•
•

•
•
•

Amongst others, the following areas for future work were raised by participants of the annual
meeting:
Capacity building, including with respect to monitoring, identification of mercury, upgrading andtraining at facility and university levels;
Awareness raising of the cement industry on the topic of mercury, in addition to CO2, currently amajor focus of the sector;
Improving estimates of mercury from the sector, in particular from developing countries;
Sharing of information on certain topics, including with respect to:o mercury emissions and releases from the sector, including at regional levelo technical solutions to measure and remove mercury
o co-processing of waste in cement kilns
o fate of mercury from the cement sectoro mercury mass balance from cement plants
Enhancing the understanding of mercury emitted/released from the cement sector, and its
distribution through long range emission vs. in oxidized form close to the plant;
Establishing an online library or reference centre containing test data, technical papers, andregulations;
Exploring opportunities for synergistic efforts in addressing mercury as well as other pollutants,
such as dioxins and furans.

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As immediate next steps, technical information sessions will be convened in 2022, with a focus on (1)mercury inventories, including at facility level, and on (2) best practices and dissemination ofavailable guidance, including the Minamata Convention guidance on Best Available Techniques andBest Environmental Practices to control emission of mercury and mercury compounds to air frompoint sources28 as well as the “guidance in measuring, controlling and reducing mercury emissions
from cement manufacturing” developed by the Global Cement and Concrete Association 29.

28 https://www.mercuryconvention.org/en/documents/guidance-best-available-techniques-and-best-

environmental-practices-taking-account-any
29 https://gccassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/GCCA_Guidelines_Emissions_v05_AMEND.pdf
24