Context: Recently, United Nations and Indonesia has called for support from parties to the Minamata Convention on combatting global illegal trade of mercury.

• The declaration was read in Nusa Dua, Bali, where Indonesia is hosting the fourth Conference of Parties (COP4) to the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

Key Objectives of the Declaration
The non-binding declaration calls upon parties to:

• Develop practical tools and notification and information-sharing systems for monitoring and managing trade in mercury.
• Exchange experiences and practices relating to combating illegal trade in mercury, including reducing the use of mercury in artisanal and small-scale gold mining.
• Share examples of national legislation and data and information related to such trade.

Minamata Convention on Mercury

• It was adopted in 2013 and entered into force in 2017 under the auspices of United Nations Environmental Programme.
• Aim: To protect the environment and the human health from anthropogenic emissions and releases of the toxic heavy metal.
• It regulates the entire life cycle of mercury – its supply, trade, use, emissions, releases, storage, and the management of waste and contaminated sites.

The convention includes:

• A ban on new mercury mines;
• Phase-out of existing ones;
• Phase-out and phase-down of use of mercury;
• Control measures on emissions to air and on releases to land and water; and
• Regulation of the informal sector of artisanal and small-scale gold mining.

The Convention also addresses interim storage of mercury and its disposal once it becomes waste, sites contaminated by mercury as well as health issues.

• India is a member to the convention and has ratified it in 2018.

Mercury Pollution

• The single largest source of man-made mercury emissions is the artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector.
• It is responsible for the emission of as much as 838 tonnes of mercury to the atmosphere every year.
• Use of mercury in processes and products, industrial activities to produce power and other commodities are a major source of mercury contributing to air pollution.
• Mercury from human activities can now be found in marine mammals and fish in the Arctic and at the bottom of the Mariana Trench—the deepest oceanic trench on the planet.

Health Impacts of Mercury

• Mercury and its more toxic and bio-accumulative form called methylmercury have devasting health effects.
• It can damage brain functions, nervous system and is especially dangerous to women and unborn children since it is transmitted through the placenta.
• The inhalation of mercury vapour can produce harmful effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, lungs and kidneys, and may be fatal.
• The inorganic salts of mercury are corrosive to the skin, eyes and gastrointestinal tract, and may induce kidney toxicity if ingested.