Maltese Islands landscape assessment

Abstract

Malta’s contribution to CLC2000 was launched on the 2nd July 2003 (MEPA, 2003), with interpretation and verification carried out in August 2003. The project was developed through an agreement between the European Environment Agency, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority and the Umweltbundesamt-Vienna, the latter providing interpretation and implementation expert support through the Twinning Project MT2002/IB/EN-01 “Establishing Institutional Capacity in the Environmental Sector”. Product was developed over the space of a week and eventually the application was delivered on a web-based mapserver integrated with other environmental published on the web as part of the MEPA’s data dissemination policy. The application can also be viewed internally within MEPA through an organisation-wide GIS system. The CLC2000 GI map is available for querying and used as background information for the process of development control and environmental monitoring. In effect, CLC2000 created a value-added source for instant notice of development within protected sites.