Continuing to bridge the cadastral divide
Bennett, Rohan, Jaap Zevenbergen, Chrit Lemmen et al.
The cadastral divide is a term used to differentiate between those countries that maintain complete cadastres and those that do not. The worldwide project aimed at bridging this cadastral divide spans well over half a century. The most recent chapter in the bridging story stems from evidence demonstrating that conventional approaches deliver less than optimal outcomes. The increasingly dominant view is that a continuum of options for understanding and recording land tenures is needed. To support the continuum of land rights in practical terms, a set of new tools is needed. These are underpinned by pragmatism, diversity in approach, and innovation. They might support or be used in parallel with conventional adjudication, demarcation, surveying, recording, and dissemination approaches. Many are already available and applied, many more are under construction. This paper provides examples, solutions, and challenges from Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Austria. Some initiatives are shown to reduce the cost and time of cadastral activities using simpler processes, reducing required expertize, and using cheaper technological approaches. Others enable recording of previously unrecorded tenures by engaging new actors, utilizing other infrastructure projects, and enabling flexibility in land policies and resulting legal frameworks.
Event: Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty 2013
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