Workshop 6

Bio-monitoring to achieve goals in Minamata Convention

Workshop Objectives:

To strengthen bio-monitoring to achieve the goals of the Minamata Convention.

Abstract:
Meet and discuss biologic monitoring of mercury with top experts from around the world. Quantifying mercury level dynamics in organisms (including humans) is critical to assessing health impacts to people, wildlife and ecosystems. Understanding the spatial and temporal trends of mercury concentrations in organisms will be key to assessing the effectiveness of voluntary and mandatory actions taken under the Minamata Convention. As influences from climate change increase, understanding those impacts will be critical to taking appropriate prescriptive actions.

Hear about the history of mercury bio-monitoring, starting with people and food sources like fish. Then learn about technical and procedural development over the years. Discuss challenges in setting up a program, including methodology, sampling / analytical differences, and data comparability. From there, engage in an active discussion on the future of biomonitoring and the potential for putting together your piece to place into the big global picture on mercury in biota.

Presenter Affiliations / Biographies:
David Evers – https://briwildlife.org/about-us/staff/david-c-evers/
Laurie Chan – https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-science/professors/laurie-chan
Kristin Eccles – https://create-react.uottawa.ca/kristin-eccles/
Chris Sayers – https://www.csayers2.com/