The workshop was aimed at reducing the eventual supply of mercury to the biosphere by initiating a regional process that will support the sequestration of excess mercury in the Asian Region. The activity is part of the Norwegian funded mercury storage project being implemented by UNEP Chemicals, in response to Governing Council (GC) decision 24/3 IV that established mercury supply reduction as a global priority, and urged governments to gather information on the options and solutions for the long-term storage of mercury instead of allowing this mercury to be sold in the global marketplace. GC 25/5 decision likewise called to continue and enhance capacity for mercury storage, concurrently with the work of the intergovernmental negotiation committee (INC) to elaborate a global legally binding instrument.