STAFF REPORT IBD: World leaders at IUCNs “Global Conservation Congress 2012”, should support legally binding treaty on mercury to protect health, environment and ecosystem from hazardous and toxic mercury, said Dr. Mahmood. A. Khwaja, Senior Advisor, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), has said.

“SDPI has moved a motion for a global treaty to the upcoming IUCNs “Global Conservation Congress 2012″ planned for this month. The resolution calls for effective measures to reduce and eliminate the use of mercury and ask for a mandatory National Implementation Plan (NIP) to ensure effective development and implementation of the treaty,” Dr. Khwaja told the press conference here last week.

He said that the motion calls for making it binding to point out contaminated sites with effective and enforceable treaty compliance provisions.

He also showed apprehensions over various existing global agreements and said, weak measures in existing treaties are not effectively addressing the rising mercury levels and have failed to protect wildlife, ecosystem and human health.

It is also a major threat to fish which constitute an all-important nutritious component of human diet. Children are more at risk from mercury poisoning which affects their neurological development and brain. Mercury poisoning diminishes memory, attention, thinking and sight, he added

Dr. Khwaja said that the draft motion has garnered an overwhelming support across the world and so far over 92 organizations, 70 foreign countries and 22 organizations from Pakistan have join hands with SDPI by supporting the resolution.

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