Insights and land models at the World Bank Land Conference

In May, Kadaster hosted a session during the World Bank Land Conference in Washington. Bringing together global experts and stakeholders to discuss standards in land administration. 

The key to effective standards

Kadaster’s executive chair Frank Tierolff emphasized that standards and models only work when put into practice. The best way to learn and improve standards is to keep applying them. The presentations by Diane Dumashie (International Federation of Surveyors (FIG)) and Peter van Oosterom (Delft University of Technology) on the Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) and the corresponding ISO standards set the scene for a lively afternoon.

Experiences from different countries

The LADM and the Social Tenure Domain Model (STDM) have gained wide recognition in many countries. These models offer proven solutions for strengthening land governance to meet climate targets and other Sustainable Development Goals. Over the last decade numerous countries have implemented LADM or are in the process of implementing it. Representatives from Colombia, Benin, Nepal, Uganda, Suriname, and Belize shared their insights on how implementing standards helps their land sector to improve decision making, empower citizens and provide tenure security. 

Interactive discussions and audience participation

Kadaster facilitated 3 panel discussion sessions together with partners such as Cadasta Foundation, Global Land Tool Network, Millennium Challenge Corporation and Land Equity International. In these sessions we saw active participation from country experts, representatives from civil society, governments, the private sector and the scientific community. An interactive Q&A session with approximately 140 attendees from the land sector complemented the panel discussions.

Key insights from the sessions

  • Frameworks, standards and models only work when they are put into practice.
  • Local involvement is powerful and provides more support to national governments.
  • Mapping the existing situation based on a jointly defined data model will provide much-needed land tenure security to both citizens and governments.

Double efforts

With this in mind, we applaud the ambition of the World Bank Group to double its efforts from 5 to 10 billion USD in the next five years. Kadaster will support this ambition by providing advisory support and exchanging knowledge with partner organisations worldwide. More investment from the international community in this vital sector is needed to deliver on all Sustainable Development Goals.

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