A 2-day National Training on Strengthening Country-Level Inter-Agency Coordination on Trade of Mercury was successfully conducted in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, bringing together customs officials, environmental regulators, law enforcement officers, and health experts. The workshop was co-organized by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change of Mongolia (MOECC), the Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI), the Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT RRC.AP), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). This national training forms part of a broader regional initiative to enhance countries’ capacities to meet their obligations under the Minamata Convention on Mercury. It emphasized country-specific strategies, inter-agency coordination, and the application of forensic and risk assessment tools to detect and curb illegal mercury trade.

The opening session featured remarks from Mr. Thomas Verbaere, United Nations Environment Programmes (UNEP), Mr. Ts. Urtnasan, the State Secretary of MOECC, Dr. Guilberto Borongan, Director of AIT RRC.AP, and setting the tone for the workshop’s objectives and expected outcomes. Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO), World Customs Organization (WCO), BRI and Nexus3 Foundation, along with key national representatives from the Customs Inspector, Quarantine Division, Customs General Administration of Mongolia provided insights into the health impacts of mercury, trade obligations under the Minamata Convention, and practical case experiences from across the Mongolia and the region.

​Participants engaged in practical exercises on customs inspections, profiling of mercury shipments, and simulation of joint operations, culminating in discussions on national action planning. A special highlight included Mongolia’s mercury mass flow analysis and the presentation of successful experiences from Indonesia and the PlanetGOLD initiative in Mongolia. The training concluded with an open forum to explore next steps in developing Mongolia’s national action plan for mercury trade enforcement and half-day field visit to secure mercury storage facility in Ulaanbaatar​.

AIT RCAP team also made a courtesy call and bilateral meetings with Directors of Environmental Policy Implementation, MOECC and the Head of Climate Change Department and Head of Environment Department of Ulaanbaatar City.