Minamata Convention on Mercury

Why in news?

• India has sought time till 2030 to phase out linear fluorescent lamps or tube lights to reduce adverse effects of mercury, senior environment ministry officials said at the ongoing Minamata Convention in Bali (CoP 4.2).
• The convention is being held from March 21 to 25, 2022.

About Minamata Convention:

• The Minamata Convention on Mercury is an international environmental treaty that aims to protect human health and the environment from the harmful effects of mercury and its compounds.
• It is named after the bay in Japan where, in the mid-20th century, mercury-tainted industrial wastewater poisoned thousands of people, leading to severe health damage that became known as the "Minamata disease."
• It addresses specific human activities that are contributing to large-scale mercury pollution.
• The Convention was signed in 2013 and entered into force in 2017.
• It is a UN treaty coming under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Parties:

• 128 countries are signatories to the Convention, and 119 countries ratified it.
• India is a party to the Minamata Convention and ratified it in 2018.

Areas covered:

• The Convention covers all aspects of the life cycle of mercury, controlling and reducing mercury across a range of products, processes and industries.
• This includes controls on:
  • Mercury mining - Ban on new mercury mines, the phase-out of existing ones
  • The phase-out and phase-down of mercury use in several products and processes
  • Control measures on emissions to air and on releases to land and water
  • The regulation of the informal sector of artisanal and small-scale gold mining.
  • Addresses interim storage of mercury and its disposal once it becomes waste, sites contaminated by mercury as well as health issues.
• Countries that have ratified the Convention are bound by international law to put these controls in place.

Add ons:

• The Global Environment Facility Trust Fund (GEF) is one of the two components of the financial mechanism of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, together with the Specific International Programme.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following statements regarding Minamata Convention on Mercury:

1. Global Environment Facility (GEF) is the financial mechanism of the Minamata Convention.

2. India has ratified the Convention.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer