Bento Coelho J., Hinton J.

The European Directive 2002/49/EC relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise requires all European Member States to engage in activities of noise data collection, management and reporting with the purpose of reducing the exposure to noise. Deadlines are set up for the completion of strategic noise maps and of action plans for agglomerations and transport infrastructures. Common noise indicators are to be followed and harmonized calculation methods will be mandatory when they are available. For the first round of noise mapping, to be completed by 2007, existing nationally approved or recommended methods can be used. They have to answer to the minimum requirements set up in the Directive. Most European countries have experience on noise mapping or have already started mapping activities to fulfil the Directive technical requirements. To make such requirements clearer, the Working Group on Assessment of Exposure to Noise Within, which is part of the EU noise Expert Network, prepared a Good Practice Guide for Strategic Noise Mapping and the Production of Associated Data on Noise Exposure. Version 1 was made widely available on December 2003. A revised, much enhanced version was later developed during 2004 and 2005. Version 2, which is to be made available in early 2006, is a totally new edition of the Good Practice Guide where new parameters, such as implications for accuracy, were introduced. The contents of the Guide reflect the expertise and experience of a large number of professionals from all over Europe. In this paper, the objectives of the Good Practice Guide for Strategic Noise Mapping, version 2, as well as general hints on how it should be used and applied will be presented. The general contents and the toolkits will be described. Limits of applicability and accuracy will be addressed.