Mercury - Time to Act

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MERCURY – TIME TO ACT 10
Global mercury events timeline
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Minamata Disease officially acknowledged
National regulatory frameworks on mercury
Earth Summit, Rio-de-Janeiro.
Establishment of the Global Environment Facility
North American Regional Action Plan (NARAP) on Mercury
UNEP's Global Mercury Assessment Report published
EU mercury strategy launched
World’s largest mercury mine in Spain (Almaden)
stopped primary mercury production
Mass intoxication and poisoning by mercury and
mercury-containing products in several countries
UNEPGoverningCouncil'sdecisionto
elaboratea legallybinding instrument
toreducerisksposedbymercury
EUmercuryexportban ineffect
INC-2Chibaand INC-3Nairobi
INC-4 Punta del Este
Diplomatic conference in Japan,
signing of a Global MercuryTreaty
INC-5 Geneva
Entry into force (?)
Numerous actions on mercury
taken by industries, governments
and individuals
U.S.MercuryExportBanAct
(effectivefromJanuary1,2013)
Source: Adapted from presentation by Fernando Lugris at UNEP Chemicals debriefing 26 July 2012 and 4 December 2012, Geneva.
"Outcomes of the 4th session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to prepare a global legally binding instrument on mercury".
Designed by Zoï Environment Network / GRID-Arendal, December 2012.
Intergovernmental Negotiating
Committee (INC) commence
its work, INC-1 Stockholm
Support to various demonstration and
capacity-building projects on mercury by the GEF
Arcticemission inventory
andUNEP'sGlobalAtmospheric
MercuryAssessmentpublished