A Holistic Perspective Is Needed To Ensure Success of Minamata Convention on Mercury

摘要

Mercury (Hg) and its compounds can be transported globally in the environment and have adverse health effects for both humans'and animals.~2 To address this global environmental issue, the Minamata Convention on Mercury~1 (MC) was agreed by 128 countries at the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) in Geneva, Switzerland, on January 19, 2013. Thirty-five countries have ratified the MC as of December 2016, and the ratification process is expected to start in the countries of the European Union, which consists of twenty-eight member states, in 2017. The MC will then enter into force 90 days after it has been ratified by 50 countries.