Inland mining is believed to be responsible for mercury contamination of sharks in Colombia’s coastal waters. (Photo by Oliver Borde, Malpelo Foundation)
On paper, Colombia has among the region’s toughest legal controls on mercury. Among them is a 2023 nationwide ban on all industrial use of the substance, declared one of “ten chemicals of public health concern” by the World Health Organization (WHO) on account of the damage it can do to the human brain and nervous system. Implementation of Colombia’s mercury restrictions, however, leaves a great deal to be desired, experts say. In 2020, Colombia’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development calculated 100 tons of mercury are released into the environment annually, ranking Colombia in third place globally behind China and Indonesia. Most of the contamination is believed to be caused by artisanal and small-scale metals mining, in particular for gold. Sandra Bessudo, a conservationist who has been warning the Colombian government about mercury pollution for decades, says a key problem is the growing role drug traffickers have played in... [Log in to read more]
