Island's first ever digitised planning map.

The hi-tech computer map, which will include details of every building, will be the most comprehensive land survey ever conducted on the Island.

And the Planning Department will use the desktop data to help prepare the 2002 development plan.

Government has already started mapping buildings on the computerised Geographical Information System.

Scientists anchoring the Biodiversity Project at the Aquarium said work would start to map environmental features next month.

They hope to locate every precious tree and endangered species by the end of 1998.

And planners will use the information to guard against development in threatened wildlife habitats.

A Planning Department spokesman said: "The environmental map will provide extremely valuable data which we will use for the next development plan.

"One of the criticisms of the previous development plan in 1992 was that woodland reserve areas had not been properly analysed.

"Quite often, we couldn't be sure exactly how many Mexican Pepper or Cedar trees there were in a particular area.

"This time, we will know the exact make-up of the species in our woodland areas. That would give us a stronger case against certain development proposals.'' Maps for the last development plan were made up of overlaid sheets in binders.

But computer information for the next survey will have been gathered by the end of next year.

Experts on the Biodiversity Project, which was launched in February, are already compiling their own green computer database of all known facts about Bermuda's wildlife.

Aquarium curator Dr. Wolfgang Sterrer, one of three senior project leaders, said information from 4,000 books and articles on Bermuda was already being stored on computer.

And he appealed for Bermudian postgraduate university students to contact the project centre if they are interested in carrying out research as part of a thesis.

"The project is very broadly conceived,'' he said. "We have a core project to put everything we know about the natural history of Bermuda on computer.

"Now we're preparing to start the terrestrial mapping, to link in with the Government computer system.

"This and other research will provide opportunities for Bermudian postgraduate students who want to research for thesis projects.

"Anybody on a graduate programme who's interested in helping, and who has an identified professor, should get in touch with us.'' He said the $75,000-a-year project, launched with a five-year plan, would last indefinitely if enough funding could be found.

The project already involves mapping Bermuda's coral reef system.

Experts are also hoping to list plant species which are unique to Bermuda and draw up a directory of all the Island's marine wildlife.

The idea behind the project, which draws funding from a US foundation, the World Wildlife Fund and the Bermuda Zoological Society, is to build up enough information to protect endangered species.

Dr. Sterrer added: "We are surrounded by water and the more we build up this place, the more sensitive we have to become to what's left.

"Will the tourists still come if this is a skyscraper city like Hong Kong? "Without trees and plants and animals, human life is utterly impossible. Our terrestrial map will show where we need to draw lines in terms of development.'' Fellow project leader Annie Glasspool said community groups and schools were already being targeted to help carry out some of the research.

She said the scientists were already drawing up a Biodiversity Project training manual so volunteers can follow set procedures.

Any students who are interested in postgraduate research on the project should ring 293-2727 and ask for Dr. Sterrer or Annie Glasspool.

ENVIRONMENT ENV SURVEY SUR