US embassy cable - 05WELLINGTON125

UNCLAS WELLINGTON 000125 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/ANP, OES/ENV JTHOMPSON 
BRUSSELS FOR USEU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV, AORC, ETRD, PREL, NZ 
SUBJECT: NEW ZEALAND RESPONSE ON MERCURY ISSUE AT UNEP 
GOVERNING COUNCIL MEETING 
 
REF: STATE 18970 
 
1. Poloff provided reftel demarche points to Lesley Woudberg, 
Environment Division, NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 
Trade (MFAT.)  Woudberg stated that the GONZ would support 
the partnership concept advocated in the US draft resolution. 
 She noted that the GONZ advocates a bilateral or national 
approach to the management of mercury as opposed to a new 
legally binding international regime.  However, the GONZ will 
not be taking a prominent role in the mercury debate at the 
upcoming Governing Council (GC), and is not in a position to 
lead partnership initiatives in any particular sector on the 
management of mercury. 
 
2. Woudberg noted that Donald Hannah, NZ Environmental Risk 
Management Authority (ERMA) has been involved in a number of 
conference calls with the US, Canada, Australia and South 
Korea on the further management of mercury.  She added that 
reduction of mercury is not a priority for New Zealand, which 
has few major mercury emitters and where any man-made 
emissions are "overwhelmed by natural sources of mercury 
emissions from volcanoes."  The GONZ has taken a number of 
steps over the last twenty years to reduce both the use of 
mercury and any man-made emissions. 
Swindells