The 3-D craze seems to have caught on as the planning authority announced it would be creating a map of the island in 3D by mid-2013 as part of a larger €4.8 million project.

Funded mostly by the EU, the project for Developing National Environmental Monitoring Infrastructure and Capacity includes a detailed map of the island’s surface – down to a two-metre by two-metre range – and of the seabed one nautical mile round the coast.

While the land survey will be carried out using Light Detection and Ranging technology, the seabed survey, which will also detail different habitats underwater, will be carried out using sonar.

This forms part of a bigger project in which Mepa is gathering information on air, water, radiation, soil and noise to have a baseline for further readings. An environmental monitoring strategy and detailed monitoring programmes will also be designed and drawn up by mid-2012.

While the baseline data will be gathered by external consultants, the funds will enable the authority to buy or upgrade its monitoring equipment as well as train its staff, and all the information collected will be available to the public for free via a sophisticated system online by 2013.

The rebuilt information infrastructure will integrate all the national environmental monitoring programmes and provide data to inform any environmental policy decisions. Meanwhile, Mepa is working on mapping the noise produced by vehicles around Malta to assess the impact they have on noise levels around the island.

This is being done according to an EU directive, which required that major thoroughfares, densely populated areas, major airports and railways be assessed in 2007.

However, since Malta only has major roads which fall under these criteria, Mepa will be busiest ahead of the 2012 deadline as areas with smaller thresholds are being assessed, including most of the harbour region and around 1,500 roads.

The noise levels will be extra-polated by combining factors such as the traffic flow through the area and the road surface to get a figure – which would not be precise but would allow for a basis on which action plans could be based.

Kevin Mercieca, who is heading this project, said even though the EU did not require this, Mepa was planning to have a noise map of the whole island.

Mepa has a draft action plan on noise which is open for public consultation. The document is available on its website, http://mepa.org.mt .