Mercury Assessment Report
- Category: Environment & climate
- Published on 03 May 2011
The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Working Group (AMAP) released a handout summarizing key scientific findings from their 2011 Mercury Assessment.
The four-page handout was released to over 150 countries participating in the 2nd UNEP Global Mercury negotiation session held in Chiba, Japan, 24-28 January 2011. Key scientific findings from the 2011 Mercury Assessment report are listed, showcasing the Arctic region as a major area of impact. The hand-out describes why mercury is a concern in the region, how and why mercury continues to present risks to the health of Arctic peoples and wildlife; where mercury in the Arctic environment comes from, how it gets there, and what controls mercury levels in the Arctic. A particular concern is the fact that—despite reductions in emissions from human activities—in large areas of the Arctic, mercury levels continue to rise in some Arctic wildlife.
Based on the results of the AMAP Mercury Assessment, the Arctic Council confirms the need for urgent global action to reduce mercury levels in the Arctic and in the rest of the world.
The AMAP 2011 science and layman assessment reports will be officially released on 12 May 2011 at the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Nuuk, Greenland.
