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A global mercury conference in geneva It faced sharp criticism from environmental and indigenous groups on Friday for failing to take stronger steps against the use of mercury in small-scale gold mining.
This practice is the largest source of mercury pollution in the world and is a growing threat to Amazon Rainforest.
Delegate to the Sixth Conference of parties The Minamata Convention, a UN treaty aimed at curbing mercury pollution, agreed in Geneva to phase out mercury in dental fillings by 2034, a decision seen as a health victory after a decade-long campaign. But activists said the move does little to address the use of mercury in artisanal and small-scale gold mining, which they warn is poisoning communities and ecosystems in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
“Eight years after entry into force, the convention should signal a strong commitment to prioritizing health over sleep,” said Yuyun Ismawati, co-chair of the International Pollutant Elimination Network.
on the minamata convention MercuryAdopted in 2013 after a mass poisoning tragedy in Japan in the 1950s, it was designed to reduce global mercury emissions. It restricts trade and requires governments to develop national action plans to limit the use of mercury in gold mining. But critics say these measures rely on slow bureaucratic processes and have done little to stop the mercury trade or its flow into illegal mining areas controlled by organized crime.
Mercury binds with gold, allowing miners to extract the metal from low-grade ore. This process – widely used in remote, informal mining areas – releases toxic vapors and mercury-laden waste that seeps into rivers. In the Amazon Basin, where illegal gold mining has surged as prices hit record highs, mercury is contaminating waterways that feed indigenous villages and major tributaries of the Amazon River.
Pollution of food and water of indigenous people
Indigenous representatives from Brazil, Colombia and Peru attended the meeting as observers and spoke about mercury contamination of their lands and food sources.
Jairo Saw Munduruku, a representative of Brazil’s Munduruku people in the Amazon basin, told The Associated Press that indigenous representatives welcomed the opportunity to speak but were disappointed by the lack of concrete action. They warned that mercury released from illegal mining was poisoning the rivers and fish that sustain their communities, causing neurological damage in children and threatening their way of life.
“Many countries have said they will stop using mercury, but others don’t want it banned completely,” he said via voice message on the messaging app. “The decision was not very good, but we will keep fighting.”
Studies in recent years have revealed worrying levels of mercury in Amazonian wildlife and people. A study cited by IPEN found that almost all indigenous women tested in communities in Peru and Nicaragua had mercury levels several times higher than safe limits.
Exposure to the metal can cause serious neurological and developmental damage, especially in unborn children, and accumulates in fish that serve as the main protein source for millions of people. In many parts of the Amazon, rivers have become vehicles for invisible pollution, connecting remote mining camps to indigenous communities hundreds of miles away.
Research used in AP reporting from Peru and Colombia this year showed similar findings — from fish contaminated far above consumption standards to pink river dolphins having the highest concentrations ever recorded in wildlife.
Call for complete ban on mercury in gold mining
“Unfortunately, this week the COP failed while Rome burned,” said IPEN policy adviser Lee Bell. “Small adjustments were made to minor issues while representatives failed to confront the mercury pollution crisis in the Amazon.”
Environmental groups are calling for amendments to the treaty to completely ban mercury in gold mining, close remaining mercury mines and end global trade in the substance.
The UN special envoy on human rights and toxicology, Marcos Orellana, also urged delegates to strengthen the convention, warning that current loopholes allow the use of mercury in mining to expand unchecked. Orellana spoke to the AP last month about the dire levels of mercury on Colombia’s Atrato River, which threatens the health and survival of indigenous and African-descendant communities who depend on the river for food, water and culture.
The only formal discussion of gold mining at the meeting focused on improving transparency in gold trading and promoting markets for mercury-free gold. Activists say these moves ignore the scale of the problem – a crisis made worse by record gold prices, corruption and weak law enforcement throughout the Amazon.
As delegates left Geneva, campaigners warned that without decisive action, the world’s largest rainforest would remain one of its most toxic.
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