(a)      Facilitate and conduct technical assistance and capacity-building activities;

To support the efforts of countries to take action regarding mercury pollution, UNEP will facilitate and conduct technical assistance and capacity-building activities, basing its activities on the broad objectives and priority actions set forth in the annex to Governing Council decision 22/4 V and further detailed in its decision 23/9 IV. In the coming biennium, UNEP will concentrate its efforts on the activities indicated below.

(i)       Develop risk communication materials, guidance materials, toolkits and
          training materials

The materials would be developed based on needs identified through workshops and contacts with Governments and other partners. The materials will be published in languages other than English as appropriate. Possible topics addressed might be:

• Developing inventories of mercury uses and releases

• Identifying and evaluating populations at risk

• Risk communication and outreach to populations at risk

• Increasing awareness and promotion of mercury-free products, technologies and processes

• Potential pollution-prevention measures, control technologies and strategies for reducing mercury uses and releases

(ii)       Organize substantive workshops and training sessions, as appropriate

Workshops would be organized, as appropriate and depending upon available resources, and would aim at assisting Governments in making efficient use of the guidance materials and toolkits developed under the Programme. Examples might include training on developing a national inventory of mercury uses and releases based on the inventory toolkit which is currently under development. The focus and content of the workshops would be developed in cooperation with other national, regional and international organizations concerned with mercury-related issues. The workshops would be organized for countries which express interest in developing such inventories and would, as far as possible, draw on resource persons with technical knowledge and experience in developing inventories.

(iii)       Develop a clearinghouse for mercury-related information, with relevant information distributed through the Internet and also using other media

The aim of the clearinghouse activity would be to facilitate the exchange of and access to relevant information between Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and other partners. The clearinghouse function would be designed and a process for collecting and handling of relevant information established using web-based tools for accessing topic-specific mercury-related information. Also, topic-specific compilations, in hard copy or other media, may be published for users with difficulties making use of web-based tools. Information products would, to the extent possible, be made self-sustainable through interactive processes by Internet and other tools, allowing contributors to provide information as it becomes available.

(iv)       Establish a dedicated web site for posting information on the partnerships to be developed and implemented by Governments, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations and the private sector

UNEP has been requested to support a process involving Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and the private sector to develop and implement partnerships, in a clear, transparent and accountable manner, as one approach to reducing the risks to human health and the environment from the release of mercury to the environment (see (c) below). UNEP will collect and post information on the partnerships which are established on the web site of the UNEP Mercury Programme and keeping the web site current as additional partnerships are proposed and developed. The web-site would include information submitted on progress, lessons learned and emerging best practices.

(b)          Develop a report summarizing supply, trade and demand information for mercury, including in artisanal and small-scale gold mining;

To obtain a better overview of how mercury is produced, supplied and traded throughout the world, a report summarizing supply, trade and demand information on mercury, including mercury used in artisanal and small-scale gold mining activities will be developed. The report will draw on publicly available data such as that found through COMTRADE (the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database), but also information collected directly from Governments and other stakeholders. The information will be collected in 2005 and a first draft of a report will be circulated to Governments and other stakeholders for comments during the period March–July 2006. The report will be published in October 2006, well in advance of the twenty-fourth session of the Governing Council, to which it will be submitted for consideration.

(c)          Facilitate the development and implementation of partnerships between Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and the private sector

Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and the private sector have, through Governing Council decision 23/9 IV, been urged to develop and implement partnerships, in a clear, transparent and accountable manner, as one approach to reducing the risks to human health and the environment from the release of mercury to the environment. To initiate that process, UNEP will invite Governments, particularly of developing countries and countries with economies in transition, to identify, in consultation with stakeholders, priority partnership areas as soon as possible, with the goal of identifying a set of pilot partnerships by 1 September 2005 . UNEP will work with Governments and relevant stakeholders to compile and report needs identified to execute the partnerships and assist in the mobilization of resources in support of those partnerships. UNEP will also share and disseminate information submitted by partnerships on progress, lessons learned and emerging best practices through its Mercury Programme web page (see (a) (iv) above) and other methods of communication, and report on the results of those partnerships to the Governing Council at its twenty‑fourth session.

(d)         Consult and cooperate with international organizations that address issues related to mercury, and seek partnerships with non-governmental organizations and the private sector

To support the effective and coordinated elaboration and implementation of the actions on mercury and its compounds and avoid duplication of work, cooperation with other international organizations which address issues related to mercury, such as the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety, the member organizations of the Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC) and the secretariats of relevant conventions, will be established, through memorandums of understanding or other avenues, setting out areas of cooperation and coordinating work plans and activities. Partnerships with non-governmental organizations and the private sector will also be sought to ensure broad support for the objectives of the project and the activities undertaken.

(e)         Promote mobilization of technical and financial resources from Governments, relevant international organizations within their respective mandates and other partners in order to support national, regional and global efforts and capacity-building

One of the immediate priorities is to work with partners to mobilize technical and financial resources to support national, regional and global efforts to deal with mercury pollution. UNEP will initiate fundraising activities to encourage all countries to consider making voluntary contributions to support the planned activities of the project. Other avenues for funding, such as the Global Environment Facility, will also be explored. Established organizations and existing international frameworks and infrastructures will be relied upon to the extent possible. Technical resources, expertise and knowledge on relevant issues will be solicited from Governments, international organizations and other partners, for example in the form of resource persons in workshops and training activities, in development of guidance materials and so on.

(f)           Prepare a meeting document for the Governing Council’s consideration at its twenty-fourth session, in February 2007, on further measures for addressing the significant global adverse impacts of mercury and other heavy metals

The meeting documentation to be submitted to the Governing Council at its twenty-fourth session will, among other things, include a report summarizing supply, trade and demand information for mercury, including in artisanal and small‑scale gold mining (see (b) above), and a report on progress in the implementation of partnerships to reduce mercury pollution, in line with decision GC 23/9 IV (see (c) above).