ENVIRONMENTAL groups in the Philippines and Indonesia have called for stronger action against illegal mercury trade in Southeast Asia. In a joint statement on June 2, Nexus3 Foundation, Center for Regulation, Policy and Governance (CRPG Indonesia), BAN Toxics, Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) and the EcoWaste Coalition lauded the Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Police (Polda Metro Jaya) and the Tanjung Priok Port Customs for stopping the smuggling of the chemical that took place at the Indonesian capital’s airport.
Indonesian authorities seized around 760 bottles of liquid mercury hidden inside carpet rolls destined for Davao City on April 21, confirming the seizure in a press briefing with the Jakarta police last May 13.
BAN Toxics Deputy Executive Director Jam Lorenzo underscored the use of mercury in the Philippines’ artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector, noting that “there is no mercury mining in the Philippines, and all the required laws and regulations for mercury are already in place, but enforcement against its illegal entry, including mercury-added products such as skin-lighteners and fluorescent lamps, remains a challenge for local government authorities.”
IDIS Executive Director Mark Peñalver said the smuggling incident is “deeply concerning and unacceptable” because the country prohibits the use of mercury in mineral processing under Executive Order 79, signed in 2012. He urged the governmental authorities in both Indonesia and the Philippines to “get to the bottom of this toxic trade, which poses an imminent threat to our people and the environment, particularly in Mindanao, where ASGM continues to thrive.”
EcoWaste Coalition National Coordinator Aileen Lucero called for stricter controls against mercury: “To uphold the goal of the Minamata Convention of protecting human health and the environment, we urge governments to end ASGM as an allowed use of mercury, step up the closure of cinnabar mining sites and end global trade in mercury, including the use of online shopping and social media platforms to sell this highly toxic chemical and banned mercury-added products.”
Yuyun Ismawati, co-founder and senior adviser of the Nexus3 Foundation in Indonesia, said the incident “underscores the urgency to strengthen national and regional capacity to address the persistent trade, as highlighted in the 2022 Bali Declaration on Combating the Illegal Trade in Mercury.”
The Bali Declaration reads, “The extensive use of mercury in [ASGM] has accelerated international trade in mercury, including illegal trade, which has increased in the past decade... a serious concern which threatens human health and the environment.”
