Jakarta (ANTARA) – The second phase of the Fourth Conference of Parties (COP-4) to the Minamata Convention on Mercury will be held offline on March 21-25, 2021, in Bali, COP-4 President Rosa Vivien Ratnawati stated.
During the press conference of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry observed from here on Saturday, Ratnawati stated that the decision was made after participating countries agreed to the idea during the first meeting without any objections.
One of the topics to be discussed during the second stage of the meeting was the evaluation of effectiveness.
Specifically, the meeting will determine the criteria that can be utilized to measure the effectiveness of implementation of the Minamata Convention from the countries that have ratified it.
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“To this end, Indonesia, as the host country, is expected to successfully handle this evaluation of effectiveness during the nation’s COP Minamata leadership period,” Ratnawati remarked.
Similarly, Head of Indonesia’s Delegation for COP-4 Minamata Muhsin Syihab noted that no objections were raised regarding Indonesia’s proposal on the offline nature of the meeting and the date of the event.
The Minamata Convention on Mercury is an international pact aimed at protecting humans and the environment from the impact of mercury.
The convention aims to encourage the reduction and eradication of the Minamata disease caused by acute poisoning and persistent exposure to high levels of mercury.
The Minamata Convention is named after the Japanese city of Minamata that experienced a severe, decades-long incidence of mercury poisoning after industrial wastewater from a chemical factory was discharged into Minamata Bay.
One of the issues discussed during the first stage of the conference was national reporting from 135 countries that ratify the Minamata Convention.
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