The Amazon Region has unique characteristics, as it is the largest hydrographic basin on the planet, covering 44% of the land area of South America, occupying more than half of the world’s rainforest, housing 20% of all freshwater in the world and by its extraordinary richness of flora and fauna species(1) . However, despite its importance, the Amazon Region is being threatened by mercury contamination, which can have a significant impact on the region’s local biodiversity and on the health of local populations, especially riverine and other vulnerable populations.
Considering that mercury has implications for central issues in ACTO institutional action, such as conservation of the environment, and human and environmental health; it is important to work to protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects of Mercury. Anyway, ACTO’s interest on Mercury Agenda is not new. In 2006, ACTO promoted the preparation of a proposal for a Regional Action Plan for the prevention and control of mercury contamination in the Amazonian ecosystems. In 2014, ACTO participated in the International Mercury Symposium, which was held in the city of Belem, Brazil. In turn, the ACTO Amazon Basin Regional Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (2018) recognizes that one of the causes of watershed pollution is related to the presence of heavy metals.
In this context, the PS/ACTO is resuming actions that allow it to continue with the mercury agenda in the Amazon region. Therefore, in response to the invitation, ACTO was able to participate in the Latin American and Caribbean Regional Preparatory Meeting of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which was held on October 29th and 30th, 2019, in São Paulo-Brazil. Later, on October 31st, ACTO was honored to receive the visit from Ms. Rossana Silva Repeto, Executive Director of the Minamata Convention, at ACTO Headquarters in Brasilia. They shared criteria and explored opportunities for implementing the Minamata Convention within the Amazon Region.
In accordance with the mandates and decisions of its member countries, PS/ACTO considers it to be important to promote a Regional Agenda on Mercury with active participation of the Amazonian Countries. This regional agenda could incorporate a diagnosis of mercury incidence in the Amazon Basin, taking into account the national diagnoses made by each member countries, the strengthening of national and regional public policies for the implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, and the possibility of advancing on financing of joint projects and programs for the Amazon Region on this theme.
In this sense, PS/ACTO is working to articulate this effort to achieve the Regional Mercury Agenda with United Nations Environment Organization, European Union, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), United Nations Andean Community (CAN), Inter-American Institute for Research on Global Change (IAI), and other bilateral and multilateral financial and technical cooperation entities.
In the framework of the decisions to be taken by ACTO member countries at the forthcoming 3rd Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury – to be held from 25th to 29th November 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland; it is in the interest of the PS/ACTO to convene an event in the coming year of 2020 to move forward on a regional agenda on mercury in the Amazon Basin.
These and other actions could further advance the Amazon Region in the effective implementation of objectives and results defined in the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
