Project DescriptionWorldwide Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) is the largest global source of anthropogenic mercury releases into the environment (35%) (*1) . Mercury can travel long distances, contributing to global mercury pollution and contaminating the world's ecosystems and fisheries. Exposure to mercury may cause serious health problems, and it is a particular threat to the development of the child in utero and early in life(*2) . Phasing-out mercury from the ASGM sector is therefore of the utmost importance. The ASGM sector is, meanwhile, a very important source of jobs and livelihoods, accounting for about 17-20% of the world's annual gold production(*3) with 15 million people directly participating in ASGM(*4) activities and another 100 million depending on ASGM for their livelihoods. In the above context, UNDP and the Government of Indonesia are in a five-year partnership to address the issues of ASGM in Indonesia through the implementation of Global Environment Facility – Global Opportunities for Long-term Development of Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining Sector (GEF-GOLD): Integrated Sound Management of Mercury in Indonesia's ASGM (hereinafter referred to as “GOLD-ISMIA”) Project. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan/KLHK) and the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (Badan Pengkajian dan Penerapan Teknologi/BPPT) are the Implementing Agencies of this Project.The main objective of the GOLD-ISMIA Project is to reduce/eliminate mercury releases from the Indonesian ASGM sector through four (4) components, namely: •Component 1: Strengthening institutions and the policy/regulatory framework for mercury-free ASGM; •Component 2: Establishing financing lending arrangements to provide loans for mercury-free processing equipment; •Component 3: Increasing the capacity of mining communities for mercury-free ASGM through the provision of technical assistance, technology transfer and support for formalization; and, •Component 4: Raising awareness and disseminating best practices and lessons-learned on mercury phase-out in the ASGM sector. In particular, the Project will support six (6) ASGM communities in Indonesia to reduce mercury use by at least 5 metric tonnes/year starting in year three (3) of the project, which over the life-span of the project will result in a mercury release reduction of at least 15 tonnes. The 6 ASGM communities are as follows:1.Kulonprogo District (Yogyakarta)2.Kuantan Sangigi District (Riau Province)3.West Lombok District (West Nusa Tenggara Province)4.North Gorontalo District (Gorontalo Province)5.Minahasa Utara District (North Sulawesi Province)6.South Halmahera district (Nort Maluku Province)Footnotes: (*1)UNEP Global Mercury Assessment (2013) (*2) WHO Fact Sheet No. 361 (2013) (*3) Estelle Levin Limited (2014) (*4) UNEP (2013) The Negotiating Process: http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/Mercury/Negotiations/tabid/3320/Default.aspx