The International Negotiating Committee (INC) and the Global Environmental Facility have developed a series of pre-ratification activities, called Minamata Convention Initial Assessments (MIAs). MIAs are designed to prepare countries for treaty ratification and implementation through three primary steps:

• Establishment of a national steering committee to coordinate activities related to the Convention;
• Review and identification of gaps in existing national legislation related to mercury; and
• Development of a national mercury profile that includes major sectors that use mercury as well as a summary of major emission and release source types.

One product of the national mercury profile is a national mercury inventory, which approximates the magnitude and distribution of anthropogenic releases of mercury to air, water, and land through various sectors within the country. These mercury inventories provide valuable baseline data by which countries will be able to measure progress towards reducing mercury emissions and releases.

As either an Executing Agency (with UNIDO) or as an International Technical Expert (through UNDP and UN Environment), BRI is assisting countries around the world to conduct MIAs and mercury inventories, to meet the requirements outlined by the Minamata Convention to reduce mercury in the environment.