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Noise is any sound that causes physiological uneasiness to the ear. People in many environments today, especially urban ones, are exposed to such noise without realizing its potential danger to their healthy hearing. This situation is largely contributed to by the little attention that most governments, especially in the developing countries, pay to noise as a pollution issue. This paper describes a study that aimed at measuring the noise levels at selected points in Nairobi's CBD with a view to generate a noise map over the study area in addition to identifying areas of high noise intensity or noise hot spots. The study found that noise levels, on average, varied from 61 db to 78 db, increasing from the west to the east of the CBD, and emanated mainly from vehicular traffic; several noise hotspots were also identified, and they are located mainly to the east of the CBD. The paper concludes that although the study was not city-wide, the noise levels observed are high enough to warrant further research and action by the environmental authorities.

GIS certification has been a contentious issue amongst geo-technology professionals for years. Many arguments have been advanced for it, the chief one being that certification is the only way through which a true GIS professional can be defined for the consumer public. There have been counter arguments, for example that certification will limit the widespread adoption of GIS technology, which is just a tool that anybody should be free to apply, or that it will only add another layer of regulation in a global political environment that favours increased de-regulation. The objective of this paper is to create greater awareness about GIS certification, which doesn’t exist yet in many countries, including some developed ones. Such increased awareness may encourage the standardization of GIS personnel qualifications, which could underpin a better, more dependable growth of the GIS industry, especially in the developing countries. Through analysis of key existing literature on the subject, plus the author’s own professional experiences, the paper explores the issues around GIS certification, looks at global trends on the issue and discusses the situation in the Kenyan GIS industry in respect of certification. The paper finds that there is a global move towards certification, and the relevant work of ISO has given the issue international attention. However, the paper also finds that the presence of a strong GIS professional association greatly assists in the development of a program for such certification, and that the lack of such an association makes it difficult to succeed.

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