U.N. Minamata treaty can boost efforts for the environment

The Asahi Shimbun 21 August 2017 | EDITORIAL

The U.N. Minamata Convention on Mercury, which sets international rules for regulating the use of mercury, has come into force.

Minamata disease is the crippling neurological syndrome caused by wastewater polluted with methyl mercury that was dumped into the sea by a chemical plant in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture. Many local residents have suffered from impairment of cerebral functions and other serious health problems due to mercury poisoning.

In its preamble, the new U.N. treaty refers to “the substantial lessons of Minamata disease” and “the need to ensure proper management of mercury and the prevention of such events in the future.”

The treaty calls on the countries to stop production and cross-border trade of products containing a certain amount or more of mercury by 2020 in principle. It also calls for the appropriate management of mercury waste.

Inappropriate treatment of mercury waste has been found in some 20 countries, mainly in Africa and Southeast Asia, according to a U.N. agency.

The Japanese government, which proposed that the title and preamble of the treaty refer to “Minamata,” should do more than just make all-out efforts to ensure proper management of mercury at home. It should also provide financial and intellectual resources to help developing countries with their efforts to prevent environmental disasters due to mercury poisoning.

Minamata disease has been described as the environmental disaster that first awakened the nation to the evils of pollution.

The biggest lesson from the harrowing saga is that businesses and society in general should never pursue profits or economic growth without considering the impacts of their activities on human health and the environment.

The health risks posed by mercury have long been known, to a certain degree. But the poisonous heavy metallic element continued to be widely used because its convenient benefits were thought to outweigh the risks.

Mercury was recklessly discharged and dumped into the sky, rivers, seas, forests and soil with dire environmental consequences including pollution of ecosystems and food chains.

Money cannot compensate for damage to people's health, and it is almost impossible to undo the environmental damage caused by pollution.

In recent years, the focus of the world’s strategy for dealing with the problem of pollution has been shifting from a responsive approach composed mainly of assessing and compensating for damage that has been done toward a more preventive approach that places the priority on early discovery and risk management in advance.

In addition, economic globalization has created a widely shared perception that to be effective, environmental regulations must be applied across borders.

Even if industrial nations adopt tougher environmental standards, their effectiveness could be seriously undermined if developing countries fail to follow suit and “export” pollution.

We welcome the fact that various international treaties for environmental protection based on such past experiences and lessons have been negotiated and signed, thereby establishing global norms of environmental ethics.

It should be noted, however, that the saga of Minamata disease, a key source of incentives for these efforts, has yet to come to an end.

Six decades since Minamata disease was first officially confirmed by the government, there are still many people seeking to be officially recognized as suffering from the disease and become eligible for compensation.

Even though the judiciary has repeatedly pointed out serious flaws in the current compensation and relief system for the victims, the government has been far too slow to take steps to redress the problems.

Sludge containing mercury dumped by the plant remains buried in reclaimed land.

The coming into effect of the treaty is just one landmark.

Are the lessons from Minamata forgotten? Is our society moving toward a future that really values the people and the environment?

A serious and constant reality check is in order.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201708210013.html