Charito Elcano turned 60 this year, a milestone in a life fraught with ups and downs, challenges and opportunities and – in her case – tragedy. A tragedy that took the life of her brother and son and made her a fierce advocate for non-mercury small-scale gold mining.

Of the more than 100 videos we produced in 2017, here are seven that bring out some of the highlights of the year.  1. World Pangolin Day On 18 February, we marked World Pangolin Day, which celebrates one of the planet's most bizarre - and endangered - species.    2. Launch of the Clean Seas campaign

Every year up to 15 million artisanal and small-scale gold miners are exposed to toxic mercury fumes. Around one third of these miners are women and children.

Geneva, 02 October 2017 – In a landmark display of international cooperation, more than 160 countries committed to tackling one of the world's greatest chemical health threats at the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The world's first environmental and health treaty in a decade saw many countries pledge political and financial support to help reduce and eliminate mercury, a heavy metal affecting the health of millions of people worldwide from Guyana and Kiribati, to Uganda and Japan.

As the mercury falls in Geneva with the advent of autumnal chills, the world is for the first time gathering to deal with the rising health impacts of the toxic chemical.