Components of Land Administration Project Design

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Components of Land Administration Project Design

• Tutorial 2 6th April 2004
• Camilla Gormsen, Alex Webster, John Lin Sameera
  Rajapaksa

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The Task in Context
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Main Components to Consider

• Land policy
• Institutional component
• Cadastral and land administration
• Land registration
• Surveying and mapping
• Technical issues
• Spatial data infrastructures
• Legal aspects
• Human resource components

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Land Policy

• What actions have been taken by the country in
  regard to land? (e.g. strategies for sustainable
  development, uses of land and land related
  development, vision or roadmap)
• What have been the impact of past land policies?
  (e.g. restrictions in development etc)
• Historical events acknowledgement of indigenous
  rights
• Cultural aspects spiritual significance
• Political structure ( Democratic, Monarchy,
  Communist, Dictatorship etc )
• Geography
• Population

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Institutional Component

• What are the current institutions that govern the
  management of land?
• Is institutional re-structuring required?
• Whether land management is centralised at the
  government level or dealt with at a municipal
  level
• What institutions need to be grouped or separated
  and why? (valuation department separate from
  other land departments due to corruption)
• Development of institutional framework (inc.
  legal policy, organisational, management and
  planning aspects).
• Will this have a political effect and if so, what?

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Cadastral and Land Administration

• What is the current system and are any
  improvements necessary?
• Sustainable Development
• Current stage in the evolutionary process in land
  administration
• Economics (growth), social issues and
  environmental issues
• Funding of Land Administration Project
  (Government, World Bank etc)
• Definition of land in its boundaries (effective
  land management requires land information)
• Employing professionals and support staff more
  effectively
• Need for performance indicators

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Land Tenure Principles

• Need for a range of tenures to respond to
  different humankind to land relationships
• Crown land / state land
• Freehold (private) land
• Leasehold
• Native title (traditional customary)
• Flexibility to accommodate these different types
  of tenures
• Flexibility to accommodate how people relate to
  land (e.g. indigenous issues and flexibility in
  titles and boundary definition)

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Land Registration

• What land registration system is currently used
  (e.g. deeds system or Torrens system etc)?
• What system can be implemented to best use the
  existing information?
• Title Verification (either initial grant from
  state or adjudication process)
• Boundary Certification (including general
  boundaries)
• Who, what, where, when and why?
• Sporadic capture through compulsory registration
  on transactions, subdivision or voluntary owner
  decision
• Systematic capture compulsorily covering all
  parcels in a selected area

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Surveying and Mapping

• How do we distinguish parcel boundaries?
• General vs. Fixed Boundaries
• Monuments vs. Coordinates
• What accuracies are best suited to the type of
  land administration system that is to be
  established?
• What are the current mapping systems?
• Are there any restrictions? Difficulties in
  gaining approval for aerial photography in
  certain countries
• Surveying Methods Ground, GPS, Aerial
  Photography ( Photomap Bangkok ) or High
  Resolution Satellite Imagery.

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Technical Issues

• Cadastral Control
• Surveying Technologies
• Computerisation and data recording options
• Coordinated Surveys vs. isolated surveys
• Costs of equipment needed to survey land parcels
• Training, Staff Experience and Education
• Marking of Cadastral boundaries ( concrete corner
  markers etc)
• Cadastral Reference Marks
• Technology in General form of boundary, land
  titling strategy, availability of technology,
  costs, socio-economic development of country

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Spatial Data Infrastructures

• Organization of data at each level and
  combination of separate SDIs
• Accessibility of data
• Costs involved in certain data management
  strategies
• Digital or Analog / Hardcopy data storage
• Fully automated or manual systems
• Countrys capacity for alternative mapping
  systems like GIS
• Implementation of a web-based service

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Legal Aspects

• Understanding the old
• What are the laws that govern land management in
  the country?
• What is the role of the legal court on land
  management?
• Security of Tenure/ State Guarantee?
• Concept and procedures for accountability.
• Alternative dispute resolution procedures?
• A sound judicial system?
• Inventing the New
• Inventing the new
• Relevant legislation reform.
• Be simple.
• Be generic and broad.

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Human Resources

• How many surveyors/other professionals needed to
  implement the project?
• Do we have a skilled workforce?
• Literacy / Education of general population
• Incentive of those involved (e.g. Government
  enthusiasm and how it will effect the progress
  and success of project)
• Human Resource Development (HRD) management of
  people
• Capacity is the power of something
• 1. Capacity of society to embrace technology or
  system
• 2. Capacity of institutions and professional
  bodies in support
• 3. Capacity of individuals (links back to HRD,
  education etc)

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Component Overview

• Holistic view and strategy for land
  administration
• Sustainable Development
• Land Administration system applied uniformly
• Land Administration infrastructure should support
  all rights, restrictions and responsibilities
  relating to land
• Societies willingness to adopt new system
• Available resources (both in technology and human
  resources)

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1. A Transitional Country in Eastern and Central
Europe
A Specific Look at the Different Countries

• E/C-Europe under transition
• Joining the EU (money)
• Land registration
• Sporadic / systematic
• Registration overlap / gaps
• Registration systems
• Boundaries fixed / general

• Spatial data infrastructures
• Digital map different accuracies

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1. A Transitional Country in Eastern and Central
Europe

• Institutional component
• Educated surveyors
• Future issues for the land titling systems
• Re-organisation of the organizational structure
• Improve cadastral maps
• Geocode addresses (cross-reference register)
• On line data service of the land registry data
  base

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2. A Newly Industrialized Country in the Asian
Region

• Eg. Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia

• Issues
• Security of tenure and its relationship to the
  society and the economy
• Lack of efficiency in regards to the land
  administration system
• What role will land play for the future?
• But also
• Illegal logging mining
• Non-permanent settlements
• Security of tenure
• Sustainable land development

• Main Components
• Land Policy
• Institutional components

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3. An Emerging Economy in Asia

• Characteristic of emerging economy countries in
  Asia
• Countries include Burma, Laos, Vietnam and
  Cambodia
• Land administration influence by the colonial
  history
• Dual system western and customary
• Population pressure on land
• Mostly informal settlement
• Lack of sustainable development plan

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3. An Emerging Economy in Asia

• Critical Issues
• Recognition limited to formal settlement
• Overlapping land administration roles from
  multiple agencies
• Complication towards land related legislation
• Low level of law enforcement
• Complication of tenure system discourages
  participation
• Minimal fund and capacity
• Low level of understanding for the benefit of
  formal registration from the community

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3. An Emerging Economy in Asia

• Design Question
• Level of political and institutional commitment?
• Who is the main customer for Land administration
  reform? informal settlements?
• What is the culture of the broader community?
• To what level are the general public willing to
  participate?

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4. A Pacific Island Country

• Colonial land tenure systems emphasised
  individual ownership and use of land for economic
  purposes
• Customary land tenure systems are a way in which
  community defines wealth and is also significant
  in defining cultural identity
• Changes between systems not understood and/or
  accepted by the people
• Fishing rights, marine boundaries
• Fiji land tenure issues
• Has a duel system of land tenure
• 84 of Fijis total land area are held by
  indigenous Fijians (taukei) as customary lands
• The rest is freehold and state land under western
  system
• The dual system is one of the major contributors
  to the economic inequality in Fiji

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4. A Pacific Island Country

• Customary Land Tenures in Fiji
• Work on principle of communal ownership of
  topographically surveyed land parcel, charted on
  Native land Commission Maps and registered in the
  Register of Native lands (RNL)
• Ownership of land vested in the mataqali or
  tribal group as registered in RNL
• Individual membership of land owning mataqali is
  recorded in the Vola ni Kawa Bula (VKB)
• Native lands cannot be sold, but can be leased
• One advantage is that it has ensured that taukei
  have not become landless people in own country
• Helped maintain land-based customs and traditions
• Major problem in taukeis economic progress

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4. A Pacific Island Country

• Disputes Involving Customary Lands in Fiji
• Land Administration issues
• Lack of acceptance of formal institutions
  (conflicting advice)
• Lack of coordination of formal institutions
  (different policies towards same goal)
• Land Tenure issues
• Use of mataqali land
• Lease revenue
• Traditional / Customary leases

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4. A Pacific Island Country

• Disputes Involving Customary Lands in Fiji
• Land Boundary issues
• Boundary definition
• Overlapping boundaries in transition from
  customary to western
• Individualism verses community
• Loss of customary knowledge regarding boundaries