UPDATE OF 19 December 2011
Partnership Advisory Group Meeting, 5-6 November 2011
The third meeting of the Partnership Advisory Group was held in Nairobi, Kenya from 5-6 November 2011. More information can be found at
http://new.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/PAGThirdMeeting/tabid/56156/Default.aspx
The meeting report is available here 
International Conference on Merucry as a Global Pollutant
The 10th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP) was held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada from July 24-29, 2011. Please visit http://mercury2011.org/ for more information.
This was the first time UNEP led a special session at the conference. The session was attended by approximately 100 individuals and was viewed as a useful opportunity for interaction between the science and policy communities. The next, 11th meeting, will take place in Edinburgh, Scotland from the 28th July – 2nd August 2013, http://www.mercury2013.com/
Environment for Development Perspectives: Mercury Use in Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Mining
UNEP Chemicals has drafted a paper "Environment for Development Perspectives: Mercury Use in Artisanal and Small Scale Gold mining". The paper provides a synthesis of existing knowledge to frame the economic argument for investing in mercury reduction/elimination in artisanal and small-scale gold mining as part of development strategies for this sector. The objective is to provide an analytical foundation including often omitted negative external consequences for concurrent and future studies conducted under the Global Mercury Partnership.
The paper is available at http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/EnvironmentforDevelopment/tabid/56182/Default.aspx and is open for comments.
Contact mercury@unep.org for further information and/or to provide input.
PLEASE NOTE: This section was created in August 2010. The intention is to update the 'what's new' section regularly to provide informal updates to partners and stakeholders on activities related to the Global Mercury Partnership.
CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD OF PREVIOUS 'WHAT'S NEW' UPDATES IN 2010
(last updated 19 December 2011)