In December 2018 several ministries and civil society organisations in Chad, under the supervision of MATDHU, joined forces and established a commission to review the current land codes. This because of the challenges in the implementation and management of conventional land administration approaches. 

Disputes over land

Without proper land information, land management becomes difficult. This increases disputes over land, leads to non-productivity of agricultural land, uncontrolled urban development and hampers the development of Chad in general.

Review of the land code almost ready

The review of the land code is almost ready. Building on that, Kadaster will start this year a collaboration with MATDHU. Our collaboration will be financed by the Land-at-Scale programme.

Objective of our collaboration

The aim of our collaboration is to improve land administration in Chad by setting up a blue print for a future system that leads to reducing cost, time and complexity for land registration and maintenance.

Activities during our collaboration

Several activities are foreseen during our collaboration. We start with an inventory of the current land administration system in Chad by interviewing key-stakeholders. This may include government and private sector and also traditional authorities. The inventory will focus on social, technical, legal and institutional issues. After this inventory workshop(s) and round table discussions will be organised to invite key-stakeholders to express their expectations towards improved land administration. If there is common ground to move forward, a blue print for future land administration will be drawn up and presented during a conference about Land Administration in Chad.

Duration of the project

2021 – 2022 (depending on Covid situation)

More info and contact

If you want more information about the project or if you want to contact us, please fill in the contact form.

Kadaster collaborates with ICCO Colombia and Tropenbos Colombia, two NGOs specialised in economic empowerment and responsible natural resources management. The project is part of the Land-at-Scale programme of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).

Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities 

Although the number of people with customary rights is diminishing worldwide, the areas covered by customary rights are vast and often under lots of pressure from rising global demand for natural resources. This raises conflict and debate. Most indigenous groups have great difficulty in adjusting to a rapidly changing world. While technologies such as cell phones, internet and motorcycles create conditions for connecting with the wider world. Traditional economic practices, including fishing, hunting, and slash-and-burn agriculture, often do not provide sustainable incomes. Other economic opportunities are scarce, and many youngsters choose to escape the poverty trap by working in illegal coca production, or by joining guerrilla or narco-gangs.

Post conflict areas need sustainable empowerment 

Indigenous, Afro-Colombian and peasant communities are amongst the most vulnerable groups in Colombia. In post-conflict areas where these communities are often located, a new equilibrium between power seeking groups is still to be established. The situation, especially in rural areas, is far from stable and government involvement remains low. It is precisely in these areas that in 2021 we will start an integrated project linking land tenure, economic empowerment, and responsible natural recourses management. 

More info and contact

If you want more information about the project or if you want to contact us, please fill in the contact form.

We recently published in two special issues of scientific journals in cooperation with Delft University of Technology and the University of Twente (Faculty of ITC):

• ‘Remote Sensing for Land Adminstration’.  A collection of papers published as a book and in ‘Remote Sensing’, the open access journal.
• A series of publications on 3D land administration for 3D use in the journal  ‘Land Use Policy’.

Interested?

You can download the PDF’s or order the print version:

• Remote Sensing – mdpi.com
• Land Use Policy - sciencedirect.com

Stay informed

Would you like to stay informed about our activities? Read more on our projects page. Or subscribe to our newsletter Abroad.

To achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, 30 regions in the Netherlands are drawing up Regional Energy Strategies. For one of those regions, Zeeland, Kadaster looked at the potential for increasing the number of solar panels on houses.

Automated process

Bhavya Kausika, GIS Specialist at Kadaster explains: “To assess this potential, we designed an automated process, which is not as simple as it seems. Because how do you know:

• which buildings are residential?
• which roofs have proper solar orientation?
• which roofs already have solar panels?
• how many panels can a roof accommodate, taking into account, for example, skylights and chimneys?

To answer these questions, we used a combination of data files, such as:

• the Key Register Addresses and Buildings
• aerial photos
• deep learning technology

Analysing the entire province

By first analysing an area manually, we trained the system in finding suitable roofs. Next, we applied the algorithm to a pilot area and later, after some adjustments, we automatically analysed the entire province of Zeeland.”

Local network operators can use this information to respond to local changes in energy demand and supply. 

Stay informed

Would you like to stay informed about our projects or our international activities? Read more on our projects page. Or subscribe to our newsletter Abroad.

A significant milestone

Since the establishment of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) Kadaster has contributed substantially at a professional level.

With the 10 year anniversary the cooperation is further intensified with a virtual secondment. This support to the UN-GGIM’s work programme represents a significant milestone in the collaboration between Kadaster and the UN-GGIM.

From framework to practice

The secondment focuses on two key aspects of the UN-GGIM’s work programme: the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (IGIF) and the Framework for Effective Land Administration (FELA). This involves working on aspects on how to leverage the IGIF Implementation Guide, to support the design and development of IGIF country-level action plans and support in country operationalisation of FELA. The secondment will be fulfilled by Kadaster’s Land Administration advisor Eva-Maria Unger.

Some responses

Frank Tierolff, chairman of the Kadaster Board of Management: “Kadaster has always contributed actively to the work of UN-GGIM, simply because it is important. The secondment of Eva-Maria Unger and her support to UN-GGIM’s work programme is another step in this joint journey. The secondment embodies Kadaster’s key value ‘driven’: encouraging our staff to embrace constant development while serving the public cause.”

Stefan Schweinfest, Director of the United Nations Statistics Division: “The leadership of Kadaster in the field of land administration over many years is acknowledged not only at the global level but also regionally and in Europe. This virtual secondment is a new, practical, tangible, and positive contribution to support our global programme. And hopefully sets an example for other countries to follow.”

Expected benefits

The memorandum enables stronger cooperation between the two institutions: exchange of experts and delegations, expert support on NSDI capacity increase, cooperation on cartography, topography, cadastre and land registry spheres.

StateGeoCadastre aims to improve the development and operation of NSDI in Ukraine. Kadaster will share its knowledge and experience, recognising the mutual benefit of cooperating on NSDI and seizing the opportunity to promote friendship and understanding between the countries.

5 year partnership

The chairman of the Kadaster Board of Management, Frank Tierolff, and the chairman of StateGeoCadastre, Roman Leschenko, signed the 5-year agreement online because of the COVID-19-restrictions. 

Roman Leshchenko, Head of the StateGeoCadastre, mentioned:
“This document opens opportunities for regular exchange of experience and best practices for the development and effective functioning of the national infrastructure of geospatial data”.

Frank Tierolff, chairman of the Kadaster Board of Management, confirmed the importance of the MoU: “Ukraine has been a front runner in self-assessing its NSDI state-of-play and plotting a future NSDI strategy. This MoU allows StateGeoCadastre and Kadaster to effectively collaborate on geo-information integration.”

Reinoud Nuijten, Agricultural Counsellor to Ukraine at the Dutch Embassy in Kyiv, was also very pleased with the signing of the MoU and stated:
“All the land users in Ukraine, including the farmers, will benefit from its effective functioning”.

More information

If you want more information about the MoU please fill in the contact form.

Human rights day

On December 10, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Now, 72 years later, the pursuit for universal human rights still demands our attention.

Right of access to land

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights says: "Everyone has the right to a standard of living high enough for the health and well-being of himself or her family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care, and necessary social services ...". In order to have food and housing, you must have access to land.

The value of ownership

Ownership can be registered by law. This makes a property right a legal right recognised by the state. Registered ownership means that you can dispose or transfer land - but also that others cannot take your land. This gives you legal protection and increases prosperity and well-being. Many people do not have a registered, and therefore legal, right of ownership.

Land rights for all

Land rights for women, poor people, and children are not self-evident everywhere. Quite often, children lose their rights when the parents are no longer there. Kadaster helps in many countries with the registration of land and property under the motto "land rights for all". For men ánd women, for rich ánd poor, for young ánd old. 

People, nature and well-being

The Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations are in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and require proper land registration and information provision with a balance between people, nature and welfare. Having an overview of property and usage rights is essential in government decision-making, for example in spatial planning or nature conservation.

Stay informed

Project completed

The location is a 50 ha pilot area, as defined in the Masterplan Beira 2035. The original project planning envisioned a one-and-a-half-year period for implementing the desired interventions. The project faced several delays including financial resource availability at the municipality of Beira, cyclone Ida, and two elections. However, we successfully completed the planned interventions.

Improved livelihoods

The biggest success, as identified by almost all evaluation participants, was the established cooperation with Young Africa and the possibilities for affected local people to attain a vocational training - and so may improve their future livelihoods.

"We have to understand the community we are working with, understand their problems and talk their language."
Sonia Rita Uane, external coordinator of the livelihood restoration.

Environment of cooperation

The management of a process of such a big magnitude in terms of social effects, proved to be challenging. The evaluation team concluded though that the project created an environment of cooperation and enhanced the capacity at the municipality. We trained the project team at the municipality, and they can now handle FFP-LA recording with special attention to vulnerable people and women.

Newsletter Abroad

A global reference

Next steps

Our contribution

Land registration modernisation

Further improve services and business operations

Benefit the islands'owners, notaries, brokers and banks

Newsletter Abroad

Optimising work processes and national coverage of land administration

As colleague and partner, Kadaster International together with MDF and VNG assists ANDF with the optimisation of their work processes and the execution of a “fit for purpose” approach for achieving national coverage of the land administration. A huge task because at this moment there are only a few parcels formally registered (60.000 of the estimated 5 million parcels) and there is a lot of political pressure put on ANDF to show results. To speed up the process the Dutch Embassy in Benin supplies funds that enables a consortium of three parties (MDF Training and Consultancy, VNG International and Kadaster International) to execute a four year project for capacity building of ANDF: 'le Projet pour la Modernisation de l’Administration Foncière (PMAF)'. 

In 2017 only a few parcels were formally registered (60.000 of the estimated 5 million parcels) and there is a lot of political pressure put on ANDF to show results.

The challenge in Benin is collecting the land data by using data that is already available from other parties and filling the national land register. Key in our cooperation is that collecting the data should be affordable, quick to collect and the quality of the data should be good enough to fit the purpose.

Intended results

Four outcomes of our support have been defined:

• The national cadastre is available, functional and sustainable in order to contribute effectively to the land security of a growing number of people
• ANDF implements the national land policy, in accordance with the obligations defined in the Land Law (Code Foncier et Domanial)  respecting the conditions of land security and in a financially sustainable manner
• All parties in the mapping, legal and judicial chains are aware of their roles and responsibilities and assume them effectively and correctly in collaboration with other parties in the chain
• Increased opportunities for civil society and other interest groups to advocate for improved legislation, policies and implementation of policies to protect access and land ownership rights for socially and/or economically disadvantaged groups

Duration of the project

2018 - 2022

More info and contact

If you want more information about the project or if you want to contact us, please fill in the contact form.

Strengthen Professional Access To Information About Land

The follow-up project aims to further Strengthen Professional Access To Information About Land (SPATIAL II) in the Western Balkan region. In total 8 National Mapping and Cadastre and Land Registry Authorities (NMCA's) from 6 countries are involved: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia.

Focus on bilateral technical assistance

The project focuses on bilateral technical assistance for each of the NMCA's, as well as on regional activities, such as regional workshops and study visits. This will support strengthening the role of the NMCA's towards becoming more reliable, inclusive and democratic government bodies. The project started with a workshop in February on the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (IGIF). The IGIF will serve as overall guidance for both the bilateral and regional support.

Abroad

This article is published in Abroad edition March 2020.
You may also receive the newsletter Abroad quarterly by e-mail. For this, please fill in the form.

A total of 290 families will receive their property title and legal certainty. This is part of the project 'Land in Peace'. The Dutch embassy and Kadaster are working together with the Colombian authorities on fast and affordable registration of land ownership. 

"A title to your own house and plot is vital for the residents of our place"

Argenis Romero is one of the 14 women who received her title: “A title to your own house and plot is vital for the residents of our place. Hopefully this is the prelude to land titles for all our residents. God bless you!"

Fast and participative land registration

On April 28, an important agreement was signed between the Colombian Land Registry (IGAC), the Dutch Embassy in Bogotá and the Netherlands’ Kadaster. The agreement contributes to the development of a fast, transparent and multifunctional land registry in Colombia. With the Dutch Fit-for-Purpose method, the local population does most of the work themselves. Because of this, they have confidence in the data collected, they agree with the boundaries of their lots and their neighbours, and ownership of the land can be formalized. This provides families with legal certainty about their previously informal property.

Dutch ambassador Jeroen Roodenburg on the importance of the land titles:

“For the Dutch government, the issue of land administration is the key to better rural development in Colombia. Our question was, how can we contribute to make it more efficient, safer and more affordable, especially for low-income Colombians? The residents of rural areas, including farmers and ethnic communities, need legal security of their properties to have easier access to, for example, credit, agricultural insurance or other tools to invest in productive projects. ”

More about the Land in Peace project

Within the framework of the Colombian-Dutch project 'Tierra en Paz' (Land in Peace), successful pilots have now been carried out in three regions with 'Fit for Purpose' and property titles are ready.

• Read more about the Land in Peace project in Colombia

In early 2020, the highly successful LAND partnership was finalised. It was a partnership between Kadaster and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs that focused on igniting Fit-For-Purpose Land Administration. The wrap-up followed four years and 30 short-term engagements completed across multiple country contexts.

The aim of LAND

The aim of this partnership was to improve legal certainty, stimulate economic development, fight poverty, contribute to post-conflict/post-disaster recovery, contribute to gender equality and help prevent (environmental) criminality. Attached you will find the LAND programme summary.

Land-at-Scale programme

Building from the momentum and awareness surrounding the LAND partnership, the Land-at-Scale programme is now defined and initiated by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, executed by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). The new programme has a focus on scaling-up land sector initiatives and networks. In 2019 Kadaster signed a framework contract with RVO in order to give a substantial contribution to this programme.

FIG and the Dutch Local Organizing Committee are happy to welcoming you in the Netherlands for the FIG Working Week 2021. 

Save the date: June 21 - June 25, 2021

The Working Week will take place at the Jaarbeurs in the historical town of Utrecht in the central part of the Netherlands.

FIG Working Week is a conference that brings the international community of surveying and spatial professionals together to discuss key challenges of our time within the surveying profession with fellow peers.

More information can be found on FIG.net.

The Memorandum of Understanding with IGAC (Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi) is an agreement on achieving land registration with fast, affordable, transparent and participatory methods. Kadaster cooperates with IGAC in one of the most remote regions of the country: Cumaribo. A municipality 1.5 times bigger than the Netherlands, with a predominantly indigenous population of 30,000 people. The region is heavily affected by the armed conflict.

Virtual signing 

The signing took place virtual - due to the lock down situation in Colombia - by the Dutch Ambassador Jeroen Roodenburg, the director of IGAC Olga Lucía López and Chair of the Executive Board of Kadaster Frank Tierolff. Frank Tierolff: "Cadastral information is key in the Peace Process since it is of great importance for rural development and land security. I am very proud that after a fruitful collaboration between IGAC, Kadaster and the Netherlands embassy, we can now formalize our friendship and mutual dedication for our profession, in this Memorandum.”

Importance of rural land reform

Kadaster plays a significant role in Colombian land reforms, thanks to the Land in Peace project that has been running here since several years. After the Colombian peace accords in 2016 ended a long during armed conflict, rural land reform became the principal point of the peace agreement. Therefore, it is crucial to get a land-covering register of the entire country. 

Only a small part of land is formalized

Currently, only a small part of Colombian land is formalized. Cadastral maps are outdated or incorrect, or they simply lack - especially in post conflict areas. At the current pace it will take centuries to realise tender security for all. The Netherlands help Colombians land tenure with Kadaster’ expertise on Fit-for-Purpose land administration. 

More about Land in Peace project

This is not the first time Kadaster signed a MoU in Columbia. Previously Kadaster already signed a MoU in Colombia with the National Register of Property (SNR), the Land Agency (ANT) and the Universidad Distrital in Bogotá.  

Read more about the Land in Peace project in Colombia.

Technical assistance in transition phase

The challenge for the national land agency DINAT is to register a total of 5 million parcels between 2020 and 2025. Kadaster is providing  technical assistance in the transition phase towards the start of the GESTERRA II programme. The support is focussing on the organisation (planning, budgeting and IT) and developing the fit-for-purpose procedures in land registration and related Capacity building (train the trainers). In 2019 and 2020 the support concentrates on the ICT Organisation and Institutional development.

In 2019 two devastating hurricanes hit Mozambique. This has a huge impact on land administration procedures. Innovative land tools are needed to document and restore already existing people-to-land relationships as now effected by the cyclones. The location of the people, their houses and temporary shelters as well as their related supporting livelihood need to be identified. A gender-sensitive and inclusive (women, youth, orphans, elderly and marginalised groups) validation, through the community, will ensure the quality of the collected data. Temporary, qualified, or ‘re-starter’ land certificates will be issued and handed over to ensure the access to reconstruction grants and the reestablishment of livelihood.

Intended results

A sustainable, autonomous National Land Registry, ready to execute the GESTERRA program and being the trusted party for Mozambican land users and land partners.

A sustainable Land Information System with clear procedures in land registration and agreed service level agreements in IT and IT systems.

DINAT staff and service providers are aware of fit for purpose principles and prepared to transfer all related knowledge.

Results so far

In 2018 the fit for purpose procedures were tested in designated pilot areas. The testing focussed on data collection methodologies and related IT (collector) interface applications. Support has been given in developing a strategy in executing the GESTERRA project and engaging the WB support from 2019.

A training needs assessment was done and a first draft of a Training Toolkit was delivered. This Training Toolkit will be perfected and finished in 2020.

Specific attention was given on IT and IT applications. The interface with the data collection application is now operational.

Duration of the project

1 January 2018 – 31 December 2020

More info and contact

If you want more information about the project or if you want to contact us, please fill in the contact form.

Sharing knowledge and experiences

More than 20 regional workshops were organized in which each of the participating organisations shared their experiences and knowledge on the selected theme of the workshop. Kadaster facilitated round table discussions and the definition of quick wins and actions for each organisation. The workshops, with over 240 participants, have strengthened the regional network, creating better understandings of the addressed topics.

North Macedonia

The cooperation between the Agency for Real Estate Cadastre (AREC) of North Macedonia and Kadaster focused on three topics: implementation of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) Strategy; development of the Address Registry; and updating of the Topographic Maps.

Serbia

The cooperation between the Republic Geodetic Authority (RGA) of Serbia and Kadaster focused on drafting the NSDI strategy and legislation; support for mass property valuation; strengthening institutional and organisational capacity on Open Data, Key Registers; and becoming a more service oriented organisation.

Bosnia–Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania

For Bosnia–Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania emphasis was placed understanding the organisational and technological state-of-play. This was achieved through organising regional workshops, focussing on themes related to spatial data.

Goals for future cooperation

After 27 months, we have a good understanding of the status of all 8 agencies, their needs and their wishes for future cooperation with the Netherlands. The aim is to continue the cooperation and further strengthen professional access to information about land at both national and regional level. In 2020 the cooperation will continue in a new project: SPATIAL II.

Duration of the project

1 January 2017 - 31 March 2019

More info and contact

If you want more information about the project or if you want to contact us, please fill in the contact form.

A lot of people have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic – perhaps directly through their own health or the health of those they know, or more indirectly through loss of work or income. And let us not forget the various lockdowns. What does this all mean for the land administration sector?

Interesting article on GIM International

Members of Kadaster International wrote an article published by GIM International, that explores the relevance of the land administration sector, disaster risk management and spatial information in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. 

Read the article on GIM International

Support the cadastral and mapping agency of Indonesia ATR/BPN

The following results are expected

1. In 2023, ATR/BPN is, at the highest level, knowledgeable about the concept and practice of a customer-oriented approach. Input is developed for the transition from a data producer to a customer-oriented data management organisation
2. In 2023, ATR/BPN is seen as the center of providing public services in regard to land administration. Hence, a product portfolio and a suitable business and governance model have been designed to serve the customer of ATR/BPN
3. In 2023 the PaLaR method (or equivalent) is adopted by ATR/BPN, and used as one of the methodologies to reach the 2025 goal of complete formal registration of land ownership in Indonesia