Ahead of efforts of the state government to reduce noise pollution in the state, the Lagos State Government has appealed to various religious organisations and other concerned groups like musical centres and video clubs to minimise the volume of noise emanating from their activities in the interest of public health.

According to the state authorities, the health and convenience of other people it was noted, should be put into consideration in the course of their religious or business activities.

The warning was contained in a communiqué issued at the weekend after a 3 day Performance Review Retreat organised by the State Ministry of the Environment at the Peninsula Resort, Ajah to appraise the performance of the ministry in 2009 and reposition it for the challenges of 2010.

 Earlier in his welcome address, Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Muiz Banire explained that the 3 day retreat was designed to assess performance so as to see areas that would need improvement to enhance efficient service delivery.

He stated further that the on going re-engineering of the environment is a fundamental factor in the Mega city project of the state government, stressing that the environment must be totally rejuvenated and protected against any form of degradation.

 Banire disclosed that the state government has adopted a holistic and sustainable approach in recovering the environment from the rot it was to its enviable status through a systematic implementation of various programmes on beautification, effective waste management and sanitation.

 Participants noted at the retreat that following enlightenment campaign on the negative consequences of noise pollution on the health of the people such as human hearing impairment, restlessness, high blood pressure, lack of concentration, body fatigue, loss of sleep, resultant hypertension and subsequent death, the ministry had been inundated with complaints from the public about noise pollution.

 Surveys conducted by the state government, in some public schools in the state indicated that more than 60 percent of pupils in schools have their hearing impaired as a result of their daily exposure to noisy environment.

While condemning the current degenerating level of noise pollution in the state and its implications on the health of the citizens, the participants urged the state government to urgently put the level of noise generated in the state under check to reduce the health bill incurred by the government on the over 15 million residents on daily basis.

On the constant perennial flooding in some parts of the state despite government’s huge investment in the Flood Free Lagos (FFL) programme, participants decried the encroachment and degradation of the wetlands in the state.

“A situation where the wet land which serves as buffer for storm water when the tides are high in the lagoon are sand filled, compounds the flood management problems of the state.

The communique therefore “implored the government to do everything possible to protect the wetlands and separate any illegal structures or contraventions from its drainage alignments or on wetland areas that could undermine the current de-flooding effort of the government”.

On global warming and climate change, the state government said “it was taking the campaign against desertification to the international arena by sponsoring an expedition to London through the Sahara Desert”.

“The expedition tagged Desert Warriors will see 15 people embark on the journey to London by road. They will be educating communities along the route on the importance of planting trees to protect the environment and curb desertification. They will also plant trees as they go on.

The flood-free campaign of the state government, Banire noted has been very successful as it was evidenced in the less flooding experienced last year despite the intensity of the rain. He assured that the year 2010 would be more interesting as his Ministry has lined up various activities and programmes to further make Lagos environment more conducive for economic growth, healthy living and exploration of its tourism potentials.

Considering the enormity of the task that must be done on daily basis and the need to manage stress effectively, the commissioner advocated that gymnasiums and fitness facilities should be put in strategic locations in the high blood pressure and sudden death Secretariat to give workers enough time to rest while at work. This he said would help to reduce incidence of high blood pressure and sudden death often occasioned by restlessness.