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In San Ramón, Bolivia - an area known for its biodiversity and tropical climate - the planetGOLD project is partnering with women miners to provide training in gastronomy, helping them to incorporate cooking businesses as an alternative source of income for themselves and their families. The course is grounded in the Manq'a approach of using locally sourced ingredients.

In the Philippines municipality of Paracale, over half of the population is involved in artisanal and small-scale gold mining, either as workers, financiers, processors, or gold panners. Many operations use the toxic chemical mercury to extract their gold and use outdated equipment--but this site is home to a brand new mercury-free processing system thanks to the planetGOLD Philippines project. This upgraded facility eliminates harmful emissions of mercury while also supporting livelihoods by enabling miners to recover more gold than before when they were using mercury.

The Kassanda District in Central Uganda is well known for artisanal mining. At the Kayonza-Kitumbi Mine Site, it is estimated that between 2,000-3,000 people have been engaged in small-scale gold mining here for decades, typically using toxic mercury to process the ore.

Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Príncipe have joined forces to reduce the burden of mercury and persistent organic pollutants

Mercury and persistent organic pollutants pose risks to human health and the environment

$48-million initiative will prevent the build-up and improve the management and disposal of hazardous waste

As an Assistant Task Manager within UNEP’s GEF Chemicals and Waste Unit, Yolanda Cachu is dedicated to ending the harm caused by toxic chemicals and waste.

In an interview, we sat down with her to discuss her work and how she came to work on Small-Island Developing States (SIDS).

What do you do in the Chemicals team?

Angèle Delo began panning with mercury in her town in southeastern Burkina Faso at the age of 12. Now she is one of 116 miners who are newly equipped with skills to process ore without the use of this toxic metal, thanks to a new vocational training program developed by planetGOLD Burkina Faso.

Angele plans to not only use this training for her own work, but to also raise awareness among her fellow women miners, especially in the town of Poura where many women still work using mercury.

Meet Angele in episode 12 of planetGOLD's #DispatchesFromTheField series.

As an Assistant Task Manager within UNEP’s GEF Chemicals and Waste Unit, Inaki Rodríguez is working to end the harm caused by toxic chemicals and waste.

In an interview, we sat down with him to discuss his work and how he came to work on artisanal and small-scale gold mining.

What do you do in the Chemicals team?

As the sun rises across Mexico’s Sierra Gorda nature reserve, a golden light illuminates its nearly 400,000 hectares of mountains, gorges and valleys.

Set amid this vast wilderness is the Bucareli mercury mine.

Just after dawn, a metal door to the mine opens. The morning’s silence is broken by the dull sound of a generator and workers traipsing to their posts.

For two decades, paint maker Universal Colors has churned out an assortment of paints and industrial coatings from a small factory in Callao, Peru. Over time, the company has worked to weed out lead, a toxic chemical, from its products. But two varieties of paint proved to be especially problematic to reformulate, including one yellow epoxy paint.

Today is the sixth anniversary of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, a landmark global agreement to protect people and the environment from the toxic effects of mercury. To mark the occasion, UNEP is looking back at a story originally published in February about the campaign to end the use of mercury in small-scale gold mining.

Alfredo Somebang is an elder of the Pidlisan Indigenous tribe, which is part of the collective tribe of Igorot, or "people of the mountains," in the Philippines' Sagada region. He works as a gold miner as well as a farmer to support his family of eight. Small-scale gold mining is an increasingly important part of this region’s economy, and for the past two years, the planetGOLD Philippines project has worked with Alfredo and other miners to design a mercury-free gold processing plant that is fully accepted and approved by all local Indigenous communities.

Two new facilities nearing completion in Mongolia will allow small-scale gold miners to use a centralized, professional processing service that is mercury-free, rather than doing the gold processing themselves in secret using mercury.

Visit both new mercury-free facilities in this episode of planetGOLD's #DispatchesFromTheField video series.

The ISLANDS Programme has launched a new app to turn the tide on plastic pollution

Plastic waste harms human health and the environment, releasing toxic persistent organic pollutants if improperly managed

The Tide Turners app will equip over 100,000 young people around the world with youth-focused community-based solutions to stop plastic waste

Today, around 1 million species already face extinction, many within decades, unless urgent action is taken.

In 2022, the historic Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework identified five main drivers of ecosystem degradation: changes in land and sea use, direct exploitation of organisms, climate change, the invasion of alien species and pollution.

Senegal, Thailand and Uruguay have joined forces to reduce the environmental and health impacts of the dental industry Mercury is a key component of dental amalgam, posing significant risks to human and environmental health when improperly handled and disposed of $13-million initiative will support a holistic approach to accelerate the phase down of dental amalgam use and improve the disposal of mercury-containing waste

In 2020, nearly half of the world's population was at risk of malaria.

The disease is preventable and curable. However, in areas with limited vector control, the risk remains significant.

Ahead of World Malaria Day, we sat down with Jitendra Sharma from the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Chemicals and Waste Unit to discuss how UNEP is helping countries tackle the disease.

Malaria is typically understood as a public health issue. How does it fall under your remit?

Côte d'Ivoire acts to reduce mercury pollution from its artisanal gold mining sector Over half a ton of mercury is used by Côte d'Ivoire’s miners annually $17-million initiative will support access to markets, finance and the uptake of mercury-free technologies by miners

Abidjan, 25th April 2023 – The Ivorian Government has taken decisive action to protect the nation’s health and environment today, launching a $17-million project to reduce the use of mercury in its artisanal gold mining sector.

Guinea moves to reduce mercury pollution from its artisanal gold mining sector $17-million initiative will support access to markets, finance and the uptake of mercury-free gold mining technologies Mercury poses significant risks to human and ecosystem health

Conakry, 17th April 2023 – The Guinean Government has taken an important step today, launching a $17-million project to reduce the use of mercury by the nation’s artisanal gold miners.

Used to extract gold from ore, mercury is a toxic chemical that can cause irreversible brain damage.

Since 1950, there has been a 50-fold increase in the production of chemicals – a figure expected to triple by 2050.

We come into contact with chemicals every day. However, if improperly managed, they can pose serious risks to public health, as well as ecosystems.  

Ahead of World Health Day, we sat down with Ines Benabdallah from the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Chemicals and Waste Unit to discuss how health features in UNEP’s work.

What chemicals does the UNEP Chemicals and Waste Unit work on?

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) makes up near 20% of the world’s gold.

Women are an important part of the sector. However, they often face a host of challenges, including gender-based violence, denied access to assets and significant risks to health.

What does financing have to do with the push to #MakeMercuryHistory in artisanal & small-scale gold mining?

Unlocking capital from formal financial institutions like commercial banks and microfinance institutions is critically needed in order for artisanal and small-scale miners to make the transition to responsible, #mercuryfree mining.

Gabon, Jamaica and Sri Lanka have joined forces to reduce the environmental and health toll of the skin lightening industry $14-million initiative will support a holistic approach to eliminate mercury from skin lightening products and promote the beauty of all skin tones Many skin lightening products include mercury, posing significant risks to human health and the environment

Geneva, 14 February 2023

The Nigerian Government has announced revised environmental regulations to reduce pollution from its electronics sector. The legislation will strengthen Nigeria’s Extended Producer Responsibility programme, making producers accountable for the end of life of their products. Hazardous chemicals released by e-waste pose significant risks to human and environmental health.

Kampala, November 23, 2022 – A new project launched today in Kampala by national authorities and international organizations aims to advance more responsible artisanal gold mining sector across the country.

The Republic of the Congo moves to reduce mercury pollution from its artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector $10.5-million initiative will promote technical solutions, access to markets and finance for artisanal gold miners Mercury pollution poses significant risks to human and environmental health

Brazzaville, 11 October 2022 – The Republic of the Congo has taken an important step towards a sustainable mining sector today, with the launch of a $10.5-million project to reduce the use of mercury by the nation’s artisanal miners.