BUJUMBURA, February 7th (ABP) – On 30 January 2025, the Ministry of the Environment, Agriculture and Livestock, through the Burundi Office for the Protection of the Environment (OBPE), organised an awareness-raising workshop for members of civil society on the harmful effects of mercury on human health and the environment.
Apollinaire Polisi, coordinator of the project to support institutional capacity-building in the implementation of the Minamata Convention, stressed that civil society is one of the key stakeholders in relaying information.
Having worked with other stakeholders, such as mining operators and the health sector, it is essential that civil society has the tools it needs to raise public awareness, particularly in rural areas where mining operations are located. That will enable people to acquire information that is crucial to their health and to the protection of the environment,” he added.
He added that Burundi has already prepared legislation that will soon be submitted to the relevant authorities for enactment. Those laws will make it possible to collect information and data that implementing agencies, such as the OBPE, will have to use to regulate imported consumables (such as cosmetics), in order to ensure that only safe and compliant products are placed on the national market.
He also mentioned that they plan to grant users mercury-free equipment and that they have already provided information on environmentally-friendly equipment. He invited operators to invest in suitable equipment for their day-to-day activities, particularly in small-scale gold mining.