The Minamata Convention on Mercury (Hg) is a global treaty established to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of Hg. Recent investigations by the United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP) have highlighted the continuing significance of Hg pollution in developing countries and its harmful effects on human health and ecosystems. One of the main causes of Hg pollution is artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), in which Hg is used in the traditional method of amalgamation to extract gold from the ore rock. Recent investigations by UNEP have highlighted the enormity of Hg pollution in developing countries and its harmful effects on human health and ecosystems.

The purpose of our FR is to understand the link between poverty reduction and environmental management, and to establish develop a process for constructing sustainable societies through regional innovations in ASGM areas and to strengthen related environmental governance in developing countries. In our FS, we will conduct, within the scope of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries: a) case studies of reductions in Hg pollution using a future scenario of ASGM; b) a study of regional networks that aim to generate Hg-free societies communities in Indonesia; c) a study of improvements in environmental governance in ASEAN countries; and d) a study of the design, practical use, and evaluation of transformative boundary objects (TBOs), based on a transdisciplinary approach.