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 small island developing states of the Caribbean, including Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 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 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 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
The State of Mecury in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
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, the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines conducted a Minamata Initial Assessment (MIA).
Country Profile
- Population: 109,643 (World Bank 2016)
- Surface Area: 389 sq km (UN Data 2014)
- Capital City: Kingstown
- Official Language: English
- Fish Production: 26,406 tonnes (FAO 2015)
- UN Membership Date: September 16, 1980
Inception Meeting and Mercury Inventory Training Workshop
Representatives from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Grenada gathered in Jolly Harbour, Antigua, March 14-16, 2018, for the Minamata Initial Assessment Regional Inception Meeting and Inventory Workshop. At the workshop, BRI’s David Evers, Oksana Lane, and Molly Taylor presented on a variety of mercury-related topics such as the development of national mercury inventories, biomonitoring, cosmetic sampling, and air sampling.
Validation Workshop
On March 11th, BRI and the BCRC-Caribbean visited Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to host the Validation Workshop for the Minamata Initial Assessment in the Caribbean. This Workshop was hosted in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning, Sustainable Development, and Information Technology
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