Land management and land registration in the tsunami recovery program, Aceh, Indonesia
Blair, John
The tsunami which struck on 26 December 2004 resulted in complete devastation of communities, villages and family units along the coastal regions of Northern Sumatra. The recovery and rebuilding of the property data bases and communities has provided an opportunity to realize the value of maintaining secure land records and integrating these with new technology for land management. Large sections of coastal Sumatra were left with all structures and vegetation totally gone. Accessing archived satellite imagery and aerial photography provide the initial base for mapping, planning, surveying, engineering, and re-establishment of the cadastral framework. Contributing to the recovery, the Canadian Red Cross and CIDA provided funds to assist in re-building. A condition established prior to new house construction was that land owners were to have secure registered title to the property they were claiming. This ensured no future claims could be made against an occupant once the new house was built. A Canadian teams based in the Province of Aceh Indonesia, and working as part of the Canadian relief program, provided surveying, mapping, environmental and geotechnical services for infrastructure and community redevelopment. Starting with pre-tsunami satellite imagery and paper records, ground features and old road alignments were identified and redevelopment conditions evaluated. Community participation was incorporated for planning, property demarcation, ownership identification, adjudication, dispute resolution and reconstruction.
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