The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), has called on industries in the country to comply with the regulations of the agency.
The Director of, the Inspection and Enforcement Department, NESREA, Mr Isa Abdussalam stated this in a presentation at a workshop for accredited environmental consultants on Wednesday in Abuja.
This, Abdussalam said was to ensure a cleaner and healthier environment for Nigerians.
The director in his paper entitled: “National Environmental Regulations on the Brown Environment” underscored the negative impacts of the brown environment.
Abdussalam explained that the brown environment is related to (a built-up environment including industrial pollution, sound chemicals management and waste).
He said that Industrial development across all the environmental sectoral groups has impacted the country’s economy over the years.
“However, there have been environmental concerns associated with the operations of these industries.
“The environmental concerns if left unaddressed can result in negative impact on the three environmental media (air, water and land) and health of living organisms including humans,” he said.
The director said that the impact on the environment includes climate change and global warming, loss of biodiversity, poor agricultural yield, pollution of water bodies, flooding and erosion among others.
He explained that the impact on human health includes neurological disorders, irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, breathing problems and infectious diseases among others.
Abdussalam said in other to ensure environmental protection and address environmental concerns, there was a need to have policies and regulations in place.
He said that NESREA had developed 15 National Environmental Regulations from 2008 till date for the brown environment adding that these were constantly being reviewed and amended to meet with current trends.
“The negative impacts of the brown environment cannot be overemphasised.
“The regulations have been developed to address these impacts.
“It is imperative for all industries to adhere to the general provisions of the regulations to ensure a cleaner and healthier environment,” he said.
NAN
