But the treaty is weak on both points, says Elena Lymberidi-Settimo of the European Environmental Bureau in Brussels, Belgium. For instance, while the treaty encourages countries to draw up action plans to cut mercury use in artisanal gold mining, no targets or dates are specified.
That is because most artisanal gold mining is illegal and therefore difficult to track, so there's little point setting targets, says Tim Kasten, head of the chemicals branch of UNEP in Geneva, Switzerland. Instead, the treaty focuses on providing information and technologies to the miners that will both improve their health and reduce the amount of mercury they release. "This is the most that can be done," he says.
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