GIO land monitoring 2011-2013 in the framework of regulation (EU) No 911/2010

Abstract

MEPA serves as the “National Reference Centre on Landcover” for the European Environment Agency (EEA). In this function the Agency supports European institutions dealing with land cover, land monitoring and land use.

MEPA has been working on issues like European wide homogeneous data sets emphasising on land cover topics for several years. Land cover plays an important role for environmental spatial and territorial analysis. As MEPA is composed of both the land-use planning and environmental agencies, it has a wider responsibility in having up-to-date data about landuse and landcover at very high detail, nominally at 1:2500 and 1:1000. In view of such detailed-scale usage, maps at scales required by CLC are rarely used due to the generalized product that is not used for local consumption.

MEPA has also been responsible for the production of the CLC2000, CLC1990 and CLC2000 updates as well as the CLC2006 product. Since it also hosts the NFP, MEPA’s role is twofold, ensuring delivery of all datasets as well as the production of all environmental spatial data and information systems. In effect CLC products will be incorporated within its generalized dissemination process as an example of international datasets Malta is party to.

Although Malta does not employ the CLC products for its national needs, it was however committed to produce the CLC2012 products for its EU obligations. However, the use of CLC outputs has been generally consigned to generalized interpretation of maps for such products as SOER and peripheral use in other projects; however any interpretation is mostly linked to EEA or other EU agencies’ queries.