Scientists, policymakers, environmental practitioners, industry representatives and emerging researchers from across the world have gathered at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IIT Hyderabad) for the 17th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP 2026).
For the first time in India, the conference, which began on Sunday, connects mercury science, environmental health and global policy. Under the theme ‘Reaching 10 years of enforcement of the Minamata Convention: achievements, challenges and roadmap for the future”, the conference will examine scientific evidence, technologies and policy approaches needed to strengthen global action on mercury pollution.
The six-day event features sessions on 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.
Sessions will also be co-chaired by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) focussing on tracking mercury reductions and strengthening evidence for implementation of the Minamata Convention.
Another special session, Complexion of change: challenging colourism through policy, art, and science, organised by UNEP, Circular Innovation Lab and Goethe-Zentrum Hyderabad, will explore mercury-containing skin-lightening products alongside issues of health, identity, colourism and environmental sustainability. Filmmaker and advocate Nina Davuluri, will participate alongside Minamata Convention representatives, UNEP officials and public health experts.
Organisers said the conference will also welcome a delegation from Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, and feature testimony from a Minamata disease survivor.
Mae S. Gustin will receive the Kathryn R. Mahaffey Lifetime Achievement Award, and Qingru Wu of Tsinghua University will receive the ICMGP Emerging Researcher Award.
Published - October 04, 2026 08:21 pm IST