Speech of Federal Minister for Environment

This document records remarks by Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Environment at an inception workshop on managing mercury and mercury-containing waste with UNEP’s Chemicals Branch. It affirms Pakistan’s adherence to the Basel, Rotterdam, Stockholm, Vienna, and Montreal agreements and declares 2009 the National Year of Environment. It presents mercury as a threat to the nervous system, kidneys, and fetuses.The workshop seeks information exchange, source mapping across sectors, and a feasible national management plan.The minister pledges a transition from mercury-based technologies, requests international technical and financial support, and calls for public awareness and policy recommendations.