The National Institute for Minamata Disease (NIMD), in collaboration with United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (UNEP ROAP), is organizing laboratory proficiency testing (PT) for assessing the analytical capacity for mercury. The PT provides the individual proficiency levels of participating laboratories as well as collective mercury monitoring capacity in the region.

Communication from TAUW bv The not-for-profit Foundation of TAUW, who recently joined the Partnership, is currently calling for tenders with up to EUR 120,000 support available for individual projects that stimulate, accelerate, and (financially) support sustainable non-profit projects focused on initiatives that aim for a sustainable and valuable impact on the physical living environment, including reductions in mercury use, release, emission, and bioavailability.

Minamata Initial Assessments (MIAs) provide analyses of the national context with respect to sources of inputs, emissions and discharges of mercury and its compounds. In addition to exploring the countries' legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks, the MIAs provide a national mercury inventory using the UNEP Toolkit for the Identification and Quantification of Emissions and Releases of Mercury and its Compounds.

Mining is not something that most people associate with Costa Rica. The country is portrayed as a land of volcanoes, rainforests, captivating wildlife and paradise coastlines. Costa Rica is also a well-known and applauded environmental model in terms of its law and regulations protecting country’s biodiversity and ecosystems.

The Global Mercury Partnership explores ASGM and Biodiversity

The Partnership Advisory Group (PAG) decided at its tenth meeting, held in Geneva on 23 November 2019, to begin work on the subject of mercury from oil and gas, which it had identified as cross-cutting between different Partnership areas. In follow-up to expert consultations in April 2020, Partnership area leads agreed to oversee a process for developing a study report, with a view to better understanding how mercury can be released, in addition to how waste is treated and accounted for and how it may enter the market for other uses.

Within the project for “promoting the Minamata Convention on Mercury by making the most of Japan's knowledge and experiences”, the National Institute for Minamata Disease (NIMD), in collaboration with United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (UNEP ROAP), calls laboratories that undertake mercury analysis for monitoring, survey or research, to participate in a ‘Proficiency Testing’ for assessing their analytical capacity.

Recognizing the sector was estimated to be a major source of mercury emissions and releases, the Partnership Advisory Group decided at its tenth meeting (November 2019) to initiate work on mercury from non-ferrous metals mining and smelting, which it had identified as a cross-cutting topic amongst several Partnership areas.

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is crucial to the livelihood of millions of people in over 80 countries, mainly in rural areas with limited alternative economic prospects. ASGM is increasingly recognized as an opportunity to alleviate poverty and contribute to local, national, and regional development.

The Asia-Pacific Annual Webinar on Mercury Science 2021 held on 21 and 26 October 2021 provided latest update on the progress of the project for “promoting the Minamata Convention on Mercury by making the most of Japan's knowledge and experiences” implemented by the UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP). In light of the high level interest from participants in the forthcoming project activity on laboratory proficiency testing on mercury, UNEP ROAP is extending the invitation for expression of interest to mercury laboratories outside the Asia-Pacific region.