THE LEGAL IMPERATIVES FOR REGULATING NOISE POLLUTION IN NIGERIA IN THE QUEST FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: LESSONS FROM INDIA

A World Health Organization report to UN Environment Conference noted that of all environmental problems, noise is the easiest to control yet there is much noise everywhere! Every exposure to loud noise adversely affects human health. In Nigeria, there is no specific law on environmental noise pollution. The principal rule on noise regulation also has major defects and weak implementation. There is need for some legal actions to regulate the increasing inordinate noise levels to attain Sustainable Developme nt (SD), h ence, the motivation for this paper to proffer legal strategies to effectively control noise pollution and attain SD. The paper examines the regulation of noise pollution in Nigeria and finds that noise can adversely affect the quality of life of persons and the attainment of SD. Therefore, drawing lessons from India, the paper proffers legal imperatives to effectively regulate noise pollution to attain good standard of living and SD in Nigeria.