AIT RRC.AP, in its Project Cooperation Agreement with UNEP International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC) is under taking a capacity building activity on mercury waste inventory for Minamata Initial Assessment (MIA) in Pakistan, Cambodia, and the Philippines. The objectives of the training are to: i) provide guidance on conducting and reporting the MIA; ii) guide the country in preparing the inventories of mercury using the UNEP toolkit level 1 or level 2; and iii) review the progress of MIA project with emphasis on the mercury inventories.

The first training session was organized in Islamabad, Pakistan on 7-9 September 2016. About 30 participants participated the workshop from various institutions, the Ministry of Climate Change, provincial Environmental Protection Agencies, health institutions, industry, academic societies, NGO and mass media.

The MIA mercury waste inventory training for Cambodia was organized in close coordination with the Ministry of Environment (MoE), in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 30 Nov- 2 December 2016. About 12 technical officers from MoE core working group participated in the training.

The third training on MIA was organized from 20-21 December 2016 in Philippines. The MIA training was coordinated by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Philippines. About 20 participants participated in the interactive training from the core technical MIA working group of EMB/DENR, selected DENR regional offices, line agencies, and NGOs such as BAN toxics and EcoWAste.