Mercury is a highly hazardous substance that impacts human health and the environment. It is found in many ecosystems and can travel long distances, from its original sources and industrial areas, to tropical forests, oceans, and the Arctic, leading to detrimental effects on global biodiversity.
Mercury is primarily released into the air, land,
and water through human activities, with
artisanal and small scale gold mining (ASGM),
along with stationary combustion of coal,
together accounting for 60% of emissions.
ASGM activities are the single biggest source
of mercury releases to soil and often take
place in biodiverse and sensitive ecosystems
around the world, directly or indirectly
affecting up to 100 million people worldwide.
Once in the environment, mercury can be
transformed by bacteria into the highly toxic
form of methylmercury. Seeping into soil and
freshwater, mercury may reduce the diversity
of microorganisms and plants, with the food
growing in these areas also full of toxins.
This particularly impacts Indigenous Peoples
and local communities who rely on this land
for agriculture and consume marine species
with mercury. They are particularly at risk
due to their economic, spiritual and cultural
connections to the land, as well as their dep-
endence on local food and water resources.
In aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, mercury
bioaccumulates and biomagnifies throughout
the food chain, meaning that organisms,
especially the bigger ones, contain higher
concentrations than do the surroundings,
ultimately harming species and human
consumers with large quantities of mercury
being ingested.
Birds and migratory species carry mercury
as far as the Arctic, whose native species are
highly sensitive to mercury. Due to mercury's
emissions and releases, it can now be found
in the most remote areas, including at the
bottom of the Mariana Trench — the deepest
oceanic trench on the planet.
The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty working to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury.
The adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was a major milestone for the world and the Minamata Convention, setting out an ambitious pathway to reach the global vision of a world living in harmony with nature where by 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people.
The fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention (COP-5) encouraged Parties and other governments and stakeholders to take a number of steps to advance integrated action on mercury reduction and biodiversity and invited the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity to consider additional indicators to cover highly hazardous chemicals and mercury under Target 7 (reducing pollution risks and the negative impact of pollution from all sources by 2030, including the reduction of the overall risk from pesticides and highly
hazardous chemicals by at least half).
Steps:
• Promote research on the impacts of mercury on biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services;
• Reflect national mercury reduction and control targets in their revised or updated national biodiversity strategies and action plans to align with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework;
• Share the experience gained to promote coordination and integration of biodiversity- and mercury-related priorities through policy development and implementation, including lessons learned and challenges faced;
• Disseminate information on actions that can generate co‑benefits for the Minamata Convention and the Kunming‑Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.