Cutting through the noise

WHEN NOISE becomes a nuisance, who has the power to shut it down? Is it the police? Is it the Environmental Management Authority (EMA)? Is it your local government corporation? Or is it the private citizen, effecting a citizen’s arrest?

All of the above? None of the above?

These are some of the nagging questions that emerge every year around Carnival time and beyond when it comes to noise pollution. They were also at the heart of the latest ruling by the Court of Appeal on this issue, a ruling which this week ironically clarified how much is unclear.

There is nothing more crystal clear than noise, when it has become intolerable. And yet the way we measure and address such situations day-to-day can be incredibly complicated, militating against effective planning and policymaking.

There are scientific ways to measure decibels. But what happens when variances to licences are involved or when officials do not have access to equipment? And what happens when, as Monday’s ruling by Justices of Appeal Allan Mendonca, Prakash Moosai and Gillian Lucky highlighted, the relevant laws seem diffuse and confusing?

The court found limits in the EMA Act, but noted there are other laws that could be applicable in each situation. How officials are to take steps to enforce those laws, however, is the issue.

In a country in which fetes are a way of life, it is tempting to think we like it so. But the effects of noise on public health are too serious, the impact on the environment too severe, for us to leave things as they are.

We concur with the court’s call for legislative intervention well beyond the usual recourse to increasing fines. What is required is a more comprehensive overhaul which, in the words of the justices of appeal, includes “a clearly expressed path to compliance and immediate enforcement in circumstances where such is justified.”

According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), noise pollution is a global problem. It is not just parties and fetes. Any background noise of 60 decibels is enough to raise heart rates and blood pressure and cause a loss of concentration and sleep. Seriously impairing our well-being, it can become a pathway to severe heart disease and metabolic disorders such as diabetes, as well as hearing impairment and poorer mental health. And that’s just the humans.

The deleterious impact of noise on animals, including those in zoos such as the Emperor Valley Zoo in Port of Spain, is well documented and was noted in Monday’s ruling by the court.

The cost of shutting down a party is one thing, the damage to human life in the long run if noise is left unabated is another. Officials should cut through the noise and listen to the court’s ruling.