Workshops and other meetings for capacity-building and technical assistance

The Secretariat of the Minamata Convention organized workshops and meetings to support capacity-building and to provide technical assistance for the implementation of the convention.

Hanoi, Viet Nam, 31 October – 1 November 2019

A workshop on the reduction of mercury emissions from coal was held in Hanoi, Viet Nam, from 31 October to 1 November 2019, hosted by the Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment. It was held as a joint event between the Secretariat’s capacity building project funded by the European Union and UNEP’s project under the China Trust Fund. It was held back-to-back with a meeting of the Global Mercury Partnership on coal.

The overall objective of the workshop was to exchange information on the efforts to reduce mercury emission from coal, and to identify opportunities and challenges for international cooperation in this area. Experts from China, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam presented the current situation and future plans on the use of best available techniques and best environmental practices (BAT/BEP), the development of emission inventory, and regulatory approaches for controlling mercury emission in line with the Minamata Convention.

The report of the workshop is available here (English only). Presentations by participants can be downloaded from here (UN document storage).

La Paz, Bolivia, 8-10 October 2019

A workshop to share knowledge among Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama and Peru on mercury trade was held in La Paz, Bolivia, from 8 to 10 October 2019, with the funding provided by the European Union.

The overall objective of the workshop was to support countries in the implementation of their trade-related obligations under the Minamata Convention. The workshop was also an opportunity for representatives from the ministries of the environment to exchange with their respective customs officers to share experiences on trade-related issues, such as prior consent to import, sources of traded mercury, handling and storage of confiscated mercury, and the use of traded mercury in artisanal and small-scale gold mining.

Participants identified the challenges encountered in the implementation of the Minamata Convention and explored solutions and approaches to overcome those challenges at national and sub-regional levels. This includes the operationalization of the newly established Andean Observatory responsible for the management of official information on mercury.

The report of the workshop is available here (Spanish only). The Secretariat will convene a side-event at COP3 to disseminate the outcomes of the workshop and follow up on the recommendations.

Osaka, Japan, 30-31 May 2019

A Workshop on Synergies in Mercury Waste Management was held in Osaka, Japan on 30 and 31 May 2019, co-organized with the Japanese Ministry of the Environment, the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention on Mercury and UNEP's International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC). The primary objective of the workshop was to promote the environmentally sound management of mercury wastes through identifying needs and gaps on capacity-building, technical assistance and technology transfer as well as opportunities for synergistic implementation not only within the Minamata Convention but also between the Minamata Convention and other global frameworks. The workshop was attended by 41 participants and chaired by Mr. Teruyoshi Hayamizu, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan. This workshop was held in conjunction with the face-to-face meeting of the group of technical experts on mercury waste thresholds established by the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention at its second session.

Chair's Summary is available here. Further information is available at the IETC website.