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Q1. The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a multilateral environmental agreement that addresses specific human activities that are contributing to widespread mercury pollution. Elucidate. (150 words, 10 Marks)
Approach:
- Introduction: Explain the concept of mercury in regard to the environment and health.
- Body:
- Highlight the talking points of the Minamata Convention on mercury.
- Conclusion: Conclude by stating how the Minamata Convention helps in reducing mercury pollution from specific human activities.
Answer:
Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is found in air, water and soil. Mercury is considered by WHO as one of the top ten chemicals or groups of chemicals for major public health concerns. It may have toxic effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, lungs, kidneys, skin and eyes. India is the second-largest user of mercury in the world after the US.
- The Minamata Convention is named after the Japanese city of Minamata, which experienced a severe, decades-long incidence of mercury poisoning after industrial wastewater from a chemical factory was discharged into Minamata Bay.
- The wastewater contained methylmercury, which bioaccumulated in fish and shellfish in the bay. Local people who consumed seafood from Minamata Bay became very sick, and many died or were left severely disabled.
Source of Mercury:
- Natural Sources: Volcanic eruptions and emissions from the ocean.
- Anthropogenic (human-caused) Emissions: It includes mercury that is released from fuels or raw materials, or from uses in products or industrial processes.
Minamata Convention on Mercury:
- The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury and its compounds.
- India signed the Minamata Convention in 2014 and ratified it in 2018.
- Controlling the anthropogenic releases of mercury throughout its lifecycle is one of the key obligations under the Convention.
- The Convention also addresses interim storage of mercury and its disposal once it becomes waste, sites contaminated by mercury as well as health issues.
Current Update on Minamata Convention:
- The Fourth Conference of Parties (COP4) to the Minamata Convention on Mercury was held in Bali, Indonesia.
- Indonesia has introduced a global declaration that calls on parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury to tackle the illegal trade of mercury.
The Minamata Convention on Mercury is an opportunity for the global community to address this mounting problem before it gets worse. Over the next decades, the implementation of this international agreement will help reduce mercury pollution from the specific human activities responsible for the most significant mercury releases to the environment.
Additional Information
Other Conventions on Similar Issues:
- Rotterdam Convention: For certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade.
- Basel Convention: Control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal.
- Vienna Convention: Protection of the ozone layer.
- Stockholm Convention: Persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
