Land Administration Åse Christensen Polytechnic of Namibia, Namibia Land Administration Course Land Administration, Bachelor Semester 5, March/April 2015 Lection 30 March & 1 April 1

Agenda Institutional arrangements – Land policy – Land administration activities – Land information management – Organisation and management 2

Land Management The activities associated with the management of land as a resource to achieve social, environmental and economic sustainable development. Involves the implementation of fundamental policy decisions about the nature and extent of investments in land. 3

Land Policy From institutional perspective land management includes: – Land policy – Legal framework – Resource management – Land administration arrangement – Land information management 4

Land Policy Consists of socio-economic and legal prescriptions that dictate how land and its benefits are to be allocated A balancing of exploitation, utilisation & conservation of the land to obtain sustainable development Land policies vary in different countries – in particular the institutional arrangements, roles of public/private sector 5

Land Administration activities LA includes: – Functions involved in regulating development and land use – Gathering revenue (sale, taxation, lease) – Resolving conflicts on ownership and use – Private and public land – Land settlement, land survey, registration, valuation/ assessment, land use control, infrastructure and utilities management 6

Land information management Land management must be based on knowledge, knowledge depends on information, and information depends on the methods of data collection and the manner in which their results are communicated. 7

Land information management Land info management entails: – Determining requirements of the state and the public for information – Examination of how info is used in decision-making process, information flows, and possible constraints – Develop policies to determine priorities, allocate resources & responsibilities, setting standards of performance & monitoring – Improve LIS and assess/design new tools & techniques – Ensure privacy and data security 8

Land information management LIS: A tool for legal, administrative, economic decision-making + aid for planning & development Consists of: – Database containing spatially referenced land- related data for a defined area. – Procedures & techniques for systematic collection, update, processing/ distribution of the data – Uniform spatial referencing system 9

Land information management LIS consists of human + technical resources which together are applied to collection, storage, retrieval, dissemination, use of land- related info May focus on environmental, infrastructure, cadastral or socio-economic info Designed to serve 1 primary function or can be multi-functional 10

Land information management Operation of system includes acquisition/assembly of data, processing, storage, maintenance, retrieval, analysis & dissemination Usefulness depends on up-to-date data, accurate, complete, accessible & a system designed for users rather than for producer of data 11

Organisation and management Governments play major role in land policy formulation & LAS. Major issues to be included: – Intergovernmental coordination – Centralisation / decentralisation – Status of registration offices – Role of public & private sectors – Mechanisms to ensure user needs are met 12

Organisation and management Major issues to be included: – Administration of cadastral data – Management of cadastral organisations – Management of human resources – Consultancies and technical aid – International cooperation – Education & training, etc. 13

Intergovernmental coordination Ministries, departments, agencies are responsible for implementation of policies Maybe supported by private sector Several ministries have interest in land policies since they concern social, economic & legal aspects Often no guidelines on copyright, ownership of data, pricing policies, who may access data sets – each ministry makes its own rules 14

Intergovernmental coordination Developed countries: one governmental organisation has main responsibility for LA Transition countries: Two organisations; 1 for agriculture & rural sector, 1 for urban affairs, construction, development Cooperation between such authorities/ agencies depends often on personalities rather than policies 15

Intergovernmental coordination Thorough investigation of needs of users and their priorities is needed Lead agency must be neutral and take fair and balanced account of the interest of all parties – Meet needs of all users, public or private – Set and monitor technical standards for data capture, field survey, data processing + exchange – Make recommendations for improving efficiency of LA processes + law changes to improve the service provided 16

… Continued … Lead agency must be neutral and take fair and balanced account of the interest of all parties – Archive data of national interest – Undertake production work, i.e. military areas – Address matters of personal privacy and confidentiality of data to protect interest of private citizens – Define legal liability of public/private sector data providers & ensure title to land is guaranteed 17

Intergovernmental coordination Political judgement to decide which ministry/ institution can fulfil the lead function Establish LA coordination board – Develop policies for handling land-related data so as to share it as a corporate national resource – Should cooperate with all interested parties – Consult with government agencies, public and private sector 18

Centralisation and decentralisation Country size and nature of communications play a major role Good for: – Standardisation (documentation and exchange) – Take care of needs of landowners in outlying areas Ideal where travel distances are big or inconvenient Must be supported by good communication and management systems 19

Role of public and private sectors Different ways or organising administration of land establishing offices responsible for implementation and maintenance of registers Western Europe – Registration offices under central government – Separate land registers often within local/ regional courts – When cadastre is separate from land reg. its usually part of the national mapping & surveying authority or organised as special agency 20

Role of public and private sectors Many European countries are transforming from authority to agency (which are freer to do business) Can take advantage by developing value- added services on top of basic land administration services Might cause competition with private sector Which provides for need of determination of activities belonging to agencies/ private sector 21

Role of public and private sectors Proper organisational framework is needed for coordination & cooperation Unified LIS be adopted to provide a framework for establishing a common approach Ensures cooperation & commitment between agencies + determine responsibilities 22

Role of public and private sectors Public sector may offer a full service covering entire LA processes: surveying, adjudication, valuation, registration Should operate through one single decentralised authority However, practice is often different due to history: land registry record ownership rights, local authorities controls land-use rights, tax authorities control tax obligations 23

Role of public and private sectors Transition countries have better opportunity to adopt more efficient & customer-oriented approach However, often insufficient capacity prevents gov. staff to offer complete cadastral services Cadastral data produced by private sector needs quality control 24

Administration of cadastral data Today's society demands rapid access to relevant and correct information Computerised multi-purpose cadastre is useful for efficient handling of land and property- related data Data should be considered as a strategic resource for development and business Has potential to provide many benefits across all sections of community 25

Administration of cadastral data Benefits should be widely promoted to leaders of government (allocation of resources) and to users of land and property-related information Efficient production and use calls for suitable techniques and organisational arrangements for data exchange Data to be collected, stored, maintained, updated economically and efficiently Data to be registered only once, kept up to date in one place 26

Data standards and data exchange Need of establishing national technical standards for exchange of data I.e.: definition of terms used, data transfer formats, data classification, accuracy standards Need for cooperation between all producers and users of land information Responsible institutions must cooperate amongst themselves and with users to ensure that databases meet the needs of each organisation 27

Data standards and data exchange Management and effective networking of the system with other organisations depend on national policies and continuing resource allocations 28

Data standards and data exchange Necessary that the meaning of data delivered from one institution to another is clear – Methods to describe cadastral data precisely – Meta-data (data about data) (what kind of data, background, format, relations to other data) – Standards for describing quality of data – Standards for transferring data from one system to another 29

Data standards and data exchange Facilitation of the use of databases (DB) for different LM applications calls for administrative, juridical and organisational issues Concerns pricing, copyright, security & safety of DBs, legal liability for data 30

Pricing and copyright Those who bear the cost of producing data should be appropriately rewarded – obviously applicable for private sector Public sector should consider charging for some of its services If charging for data then it is needed to establish mechanisms to control its copyright 31

Pricing and copyright Two factors that may prevent open exchange of data: copyright and security (all land and property-related data may be subject to copyright) Therefore, communicating data to the public may cause legal or financial problems if copyright laws are enforced 32

Management of LAS Functions of LA coordination board – Avoid duplicate systems, double work & extra cost – To realise potential benefits of any cadastral reform – Create good conditions where staff can develop skills as required by rapid technological development – Creation of financing facilities to allow to invest in and develop new technology and applications with increased number of customers 33

Management of LAS With introduction of new technology, management needs to – Identify human factors involved in transition – Define new levels of skill and responsibility for each task – Consult staff to obtain their confidence and awareness of what is going on – Revise training programmes to fit changing needs – Upgrade education of supervisors – Reassess which work is done in the field and in the office, respectively 34

Staff training Success depends on the availability of skilled staff at all levels Need of formal as well as in-house training Education and training are ongoing processes Often promotion is based on length of service rather than knowledge and ability Transition countries: in particular training in land and real property valuation needs new direction Need of restructuring of technician & university educations 35

Management training Quality of management is single most important factor in success or failure of LAS Mgt. concerns: organisation and methods, policy and planning, monitoring and motivation, listening, analysing, decision-making, communication Set targets for staff performance Persuade political and financial masters of needs to invest in new technologies available Management training 36

Enjoy the mid-term break and Happy Easter! 37