Laboratory networks for mercury and other contaminant analyses in regional hubs throughout the world, especially in mercury hotspots, will provide important information for the assessment of risk, both to humans and wildlife, in these environments.
BRI’s extensive mercury work in the Caribbean Region has led the way for the first network of integrated laboratories to be established. The primary toxicology laboratory will be located in Antigua and Barbuda, with secondary laboratories in other Caribbean countries. These labs will serve as the regional hubs for mercury analyses of abiotic and biotic samples that are used for assessing human and environmental health
Download the Caribbean Region Mercury Monitoring Network report here.
As International Technical Experts BRI assisted several Caribbean countries, including Belize, as part of a regional Minamata Initial Assessment. The Basel Convention Regional Center for the Caribbean implemented the regional MIA project and BRI provided expertise to assist with the development of national mercury inventories for each participating country using UN Environment’s Toolkit for Identification and Quantification of Mercury Releases. The results of this regional MIA will assist Belize with meeting requirements outlined by the Minamata Convention to reduce mercury in the environment and exposure of mercury to humans.
Formal Capacity: International Technical Expert
Project Lead: David Evers
Funding/Implementing Agency: GEF/UN Environment
Executing Agency: Basel Convention Regional Center for the Caribbean
Mercury Monitoring in Belize
Under the Minamata Convention, individual countries are charged with protecting human health and the environment from the risks of mercury exposure by systematically controlling mercury emissions and releases, including phasing out the use of mercury in certain products and processes.
In order to assist with preparations for the ratification and implementation of the Convention, Belize is conducting mercury monitoring in collaboration with BRI.
New Report: Assessing contemporary methylmercury exposure to resident and migratory bird species of Belize
Click here to download the Mercury Monitoring brochure.
Click here to download the Ecosystem Sensitivity Mapping brochure.
Country Profile
- Population: 366,954 (World Bank 2016)
- Surface Area: 22,966 sq km (UN Data 2014)
- Capital City: Belmopan
- Official Language: English
- Fish Production: 97,523 tonnes (FAO 2015)
- UN Membership Date: September 25, 1981
Inception Meeting and Mercury Inventory Training Workshop
The Minamata Initial Assessment Inception Meeting and Inventory Training Workshop were held in Belize on January 23, 2019. There, participants, which included representatives from several key stakeholders, were familiarized with the Minamata Convention on Mercury and the Minamata Initial Assessment (MIA) and organized meetings and site visits with consultants to facilitate data collection.
