The 17th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant has begun at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, bringing scientists, policymakers, environmental practitioners, industry representatives and researchers together to examine mercury pollution, environmental health and the implementation of the Minamata Convention.
The six-day International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, or ICMGP 2026, is being held in India for the first time. Its theme, “Reaching 10 years of enforcement of the Minamata Convention: achievements, challenges and roadmap for the future”, places the focus on the progress made under the global agreement and the work still required to reduce mercury-related risks.
The conference will examine scientific evidence, technologies and policy approaches related to mercury pollution. The discussions are expected to cover mercury monitoring, human biomonitoring, biodiversity, cosmetics, artisanal and small-scale gold mining, the oil and gas sector, wetlands, environmental modelling, machine learning and the science-policy interface.
The range of subjects reflects the way mercury pollution cuts across environmental systems and public health. Monitoring and human biomonitoring address how exposure is measured, while sessions on biodiversity and wetlands focus on the effects of mercury on ecosystems. Discussions on cosmetics and artisanal and small-scale gold mining will examine sectors associated with exposure and pollution concerns, according to the conference details reported by The Hindu.
Sessions will also be co-chaired by the United Nations Environment Programme, with a focus on tracking reductions in mercury pollution and strengthening the evidence available for implementing the Minamata Convention. The convention is the central international policy framework referenced by the conference, which is examining its enforcement after a decade of global action.
A special session titled “Complexion of change: challenging colourism through policy, art, and science” will address mercury-containing skin-lightening products. Organised by UNEP, Circular Innovation Lab and Goethe-Zentrum Hyderabad, the session will connect public health and environmental sustainability with questions of identity and colourism. Filmmaker and advocate Nina Davuluri is scheduled to participate alongside representatives of the Minamata Convention, UNEP officials and public health experts.
The programme will also include a delegation from Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan and testimony from a survivor of Minamata disease. The reference to Kumamoto connects the conference to the historical public-health experience associated with mercury poisoning in Japan and to the continuing relevance of survivor testimony in global discussions on pollution and environmental health.
The event’s institutional significance extends beyond the conference venue. Mercury pollution requires coordination between scientific monitoring, health systems, environmental regulators, industry and international policy institutions. The programme at IIT Hyderabad brings these groups into the same forum, with sessions designed to link scientific findings with policy implementation and pollution-reduction efforts.
Awards will also be presented during the conference. Mae S. Gustin will receive the Kathryn R. Mahaffey Lifetime Achievement Award, while Qingru Wu of Tsinghua University will receive the ICMGP Emerging Researcher Award.
The conference will continue for six days at IIT Hyderabad, with discussions scheduled across mercury science, environmental health, pollution monitoring, technology and the implementation of the Minamata Convention.