At a national coordination meeting on waste, garbage, and hazardous toxic material management here on Tuesday, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar underscored that the government in 2017 ratified the Minamata Convention on the use of mercury, which affects health and the environment.
She noted that the government then issued the National Action Plan for Mercury Reduction and Elimination (RAN-PPM) to encourage the elimination of mercury use in various sectors, including manufacturing, energy, small-scale gold mining, and health.
According to her, as of May 2024, as many as 11 provinces and 10 districts and cities have created RAD-PPMs.
"I'd like to thank the 10 districts and cities and the 11 provinces," she said.
The ministry's director general of waste, garbage, and hazardous toxic material management, Rosa Vivien Ratnawati, also reminded regional governments of the obligation to create RAD-PPMs to support mercury use elimination efforts at the province, district, and city levels.
She affirmed that her ministry is open to dialogue to help regional governments devise their own RAD-PPMs as well as on the management of hazardous toxic materials.
"There are still very few provincial and district/city governments that have created RAD-PPMs so this (Tuesday's meeting) is also an opportunity for dialogue with regional governments on how they can reduce and eliminate mercury," Ratnawati added.
She noted that, during the coordination meeting, the ministry also launched the Hazardous Toxic Material Waste Management Emergency Center, which has been integrated with the National Disaster Mitigation Agency's (BNPB's) system to support a quick response when emergency incidents related to hazardous toxic material waste occur.
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Translator: Prisca Triferna, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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