**1. Introduction**

The World Health Organization (WHO) has considered environmental noise (also called community noise, domestic noise, or residential noise) in its environmental health criteria and guideline documents an important problem since the 1970s [1–4]. In the earliest document of 1980 noise is explicitly 'considered to be any unwanted sound that may adversely affect the health and wellbeing of individuals or populations,' and the later documents do not redefine the term. This definition is often incorrectly quoted as 'noise is unwanted sound', see for example [5, 6]. The WHO Guidelines for Community Noise define environmental noise as noise emitted from all sources, except noise at the industrial workplace [2].

Exposure to environmental noise has several impacts on human health and the environment, which have social and economic implications. These include [4, 7]:


The extent of the environmental noise problem is large [8]. In the European Union (EU) an estimated 113 million people are exposed to long-term day-evening-night traffic noise levels of at least 55 dB(A). 22 million people are exposed to high levels of railway noise, and 4 million to high levels of aircraft noise. Long-term exposure to environmental noise is estimated to cause 12,000 premature deaths and contribute to 48,000 new cases of ischaemic heart disease per year. 22 million people are estimated to suffer chronic high annoyance, and 6.5 million people suffer chronic high sleep disturbance. In 2011, the WHO estimated that the disability-adjusted lost life years (DALYs) due to environmental noise exposure in EU countries amounted to 60,000 years for ischaemic heart disease, 45,000 years for cognitive impairment of children, 903,000 years for sleep disturbance, 21,000 years for tinnitus, and 654,000 years for annoyance [9].

In developing countries, urbanization, industrialization, and vehicle fleet growth have increased noise emissions and imissions<sup>1</sup> in densely populated areas. Exposure to environmental noise significantly threatens human health and the quality of life of millions of people. Cities such as Bangkok [10], Cairo [11], Jakarta [12] and many others [13] are now having to take action to enhance their institutional and technical capabilities to estimate and control noise exposure and implement preventive actions to reduce the risks that noise poses to their citizens [14]. Data reported from 28 cities of low-and middle-income countries were found to have equivalent sound pressure levels for daytime hours of 55–91 dB(A) [13]. Night-time equivalent sound pressure levels ranged between 42 and 80 dB(A). Corresponding noise-induced impacts included high annoyance, sleep disturbance, and persistent hearing loss [13].

The degree of environmental noise exposure of urban populations is directly related to the level of society's development in a country. Societal development results in an increase in the levels of urbanization, industrialization, and transportation systems. Without appropriate intervention, environmental noise and the noise impact on communities will increase. Governments are responsible to promulgate, implement and enforce strong environmental noise strategies, policies, laws, and regulations, which are suitable to control environmental noise. Failure to do this will make it

<sup>1</sup> The term 'imission' is used here instead of the term 'immission' (used in the literature and pronounced 'aimission') because its pronunciation is more logical to distinguish it from the term 'emission'.

impossible to prevent a continuous increase in environmental noise pollution, and governments will be ineffective in combating it.

Mandatory noise emission and noise imission standards at the national, regional, and municipal levels are the usual instruments of a governmental 'Command and Control' approach. Regulatory standards strongly depend on a country's risk management strategy, its socio-political situation, its technical and instrumental capacities and capabilities, costs of compliance, and the existence of international agreements and guidance documents such as those of the WHO. While countries' mandatory noise emission and imission standards usually are country-specific, in general, the following issues are to be considered [2]:


The Command-and-Control approach for emission and imission control at the national, regional or municipal levels strongly influences the implementation and enforcement of noise control policies. If regulatory standards are exceeded action plans to mitigate noise exposure, which address all relevant sources of noise pollution, must be drafted, implemented and enforced.

In principle, there is a need for a strategic approach (SA) on Environmental Noise Management (ENM) in developing countries to assist decision-makers and stakeholders to formulate and implement effective ENM strategies [15].

The Inter-Noise 2007 Workshop on Environmental Noise Management in Developing Countries observed [15]:


result of a lack of political will and partly because of the cost. Because it is unrealistic to expect implementation and enforcement to rapidly improve a stepby-step approach would be more realistic.


The aim of ENM is to enable government authorities to design policies and strategies to achieve and maintain a low-noise soundscape and reduce environmental noise impacts on human health and protect animals against noise exposure. To implement a low-noise soundscape, governmental authorities, in collaboration with other stakeholders, must consider the local circumstances with respect to background noise levels and the available technological and instrumental capacities and capabilities. In addition, responsible authorities must also account for extant cultural and social conditions and the financial and human resources available.

Several factors determine an effective ENM strategy. These include the knowledge of relevant environmental noise sources, the application of models for noise transmission and noise mapping, and procedures for the assessment of noise exposure and its related health and environmental impacts. The promulgation, implementation, and enforcement of emission standards and health-based imission standards are also needed as well as a range of cost-effective noise exposure control measures. Responsible authorities must be empowered to implement and enforce control measures. A simplified cycle of ENM is depicted in **Figure 1** [16, 17].

There are a lot of different stakeholders involved in ENM. These include politicians, political advisors, technology officials, policy analysts, communities, researchers, interest groups, and acoustic professionals. The interaction of these players with the policy stages involved in ENM is shown in **Figure 2**.

*Guidelines for Environmental Noise Management in Developing Countries DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109952*

#### **Figure 1.**

*A simplified cycle for environmental noise management. Source: Schwela & Finegold 2009 [16], Haq & Schwela 2012 [17].*

#### **Figure 2.**

*Interaction between policy stages and involved stakeholders. Source: Adapted from Hede [17, 18].*

A SA on ENM in developing countries systematically encompasses the most important components of comprehensive ENM. It is a flexible, rational, and broad high-level approach that is adaptable to the needs of different countries and cities. It helps guide national and local governmental authorities and other stakeholders who have a role to play in ENM. Governmental authorities in collaboration with relevant stakeholders can formulate and implement ENM strategies and programmes to prevent further deterioration of sound pressure levels. Stakeholders include the judiciary, the private sector, civil society including non-governmental organizations, the media, academia, development agencies and financial institutions.

This chapter does not develop such a SA but outlines guidelines to develop a SA and, by its realization, implementation and enforcement help reduce the health impacts of different types of environmental noise such as noise from road traffic, railways, airports and low-flying aircraft, industries, residences, leisure facilities, shooting ranges, outdoor appliances and ships in or close to ports.
