NAN-AE-3
Sensitisation
By Vivian Emoni
Abuja, Nov. 8, 2016 (NAN) The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, (NESREA) says it is committed to sensitise Nigerians on the need to preserve air quality for healthier environment in the country.
Dr Lawrence Anukam, Director-General of the agency made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.
Anukam said that the sensitisation of Nigerians on air quality would help to address air quality problems in the country.
He said that the agency would also sensitise the public on the environmental and human health implications of air pollution and on the extant environmental and human laws related to air quality.
The director-general explained that air quality could be described as the condition of the air in an environment.
He said that air quality was being determined by assessing a variety of pollution indicators.
Anukam explained that good air quality was a requirement for preserving the exquisite balance of life on earth for humans, plants, animals and natural resources.
He said that poor air was that which occurred when pollutants reached high enough concentrations to endanger human health as well as the environment.
Anukam said that a two-day stakeholder’s forum, which the agency organised, would create an avenue for constructive deliberation on ways to tackle air quality menace in the country.
According to him, the forum will highlight linkages to climate change; evaluate the environmental and health implications of air pollution and proffering solutions for a way forward.
He said that the World Health Assembly (WHA) identified air pollution as the world`s largest single environmental health risk and had caused up to 8 million global deaths annually.
According to him, there are high levels of mortality being recorded as a result of the inhalation of noxious and toxic emissions from stationary and mobile sources of air pollution.
He said that good policies and standards on clear fuels and complying with environmental laws and regulations would also address air pollution.
Anukam, however, called on various stakeholders to develop air quality monitoring systems, adding that the essence of the monitoring was to characterise and observe the quality of the environment. (NAN)
VOE/MO
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Edited by Morayo Omolade