'Cadastre 2014' – Report of Commission 7 Working Group 7.1, Modern Cadastres

‘Cadastre 2014’ – Rapport du Groupe de travail 7.1 de la Commission 7, Cadastres modernes

‘Kataster 2014’ – Bericht der Kommission 7, Arbeitsgruppe 7.1, Moderne Kataster

Jürg Kaufmann, Chairman WG 7.1 and Daniel Steudler, Secretary WG 7.1 - Switzerland

ABSTRACT

The report describes the work being done in stages and progress that has been made by Working Group 7.1. It gives an overview of the results of the surveys on the state of the cadastral systems, the cadastral reform processes, and the issues of privatisation and cost recovery in cadastral matters. The result of the work – a vision of the cadastral systems in some twenty years, which the Working Group speaks of a ‘Vision Cadastre 2014’ – is shown.

RESUME

Le rapport décrit les étapes et le progrès des travaux du groupe de travail 7.1. Il donne une vue d'ensemble des résultats des enquêtes sur l’état actuel des systèmes cadastrales, les reformes cadastrales et les aspects de la privatisation et des revenues financiers du cadastre. Le résultat du travail – une vision comme les systèmes cadastrales pourraient se présenter dans quelques vingt ans, le groupe du travail parle d’une 'Vision Cadastre 2014' – est montré.

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG

Der Bericht beschreibt die Arbeitsschritte der Arbeitsgruppe 7.1. Er gibt einen Überblick über die Untersuchungen zum Zustand und den Reformen der Katastersysteme und über die Aspekte der Kostendeckung und der Privatisierung im Katasterwesen. Das Resultat der Arbeit – eine Vision, wie Katastersysteme in cirka zwanzig Jahren aussehen könnten, die Kommission spricht von der 'Vision Kataster 2014' – wird aufgezeigt.

1 INTRODUCTION

During the 1994 Congress in Melbourne, Australia, the FIG-Commission 7 decided to have three working groups studying different aspects of cadastre and land management.

2 Task of the working group 7.1

The task given by the Commission to the Working Group 7.1 was:

• to study cadastral reform procedures as applied in developed countries;
• to take into consideration automation in the cadastral systems and the role of the cadastres as part of a larger Land Information System;
• to evaluate trends in the cadastral system field and to produce a vision of where cadastral systems will be in 20 years time;
• to show the means by which these changes can be achieved;
• to describe the technology to be used in implementing these changes.

3 Investigation of Cadastral Systems

To get an idea of the existing cadastral systems a first questionnaire was sent out in February 1995 to some seventy Commission 7 delegates and corresponding members. The questions referred to the following issues:

Delegates from 31 countries or states responded to the questionnaire. The answers have been compiled in a summary report. The most important issues showed the following trends:

4 Development of the ‘Statements on Cadastre 2014’

Based on this trend analysis, on OICRF documents, and on a discussion with Prof. J. Henssen at OICRF in Apeldoorn, a first discussion basis for the Working Group has been established in the form of six statements. They were presented at the one-day seminar on 'Modern Cadastres and Cadastral Innovation' in Delft, Netherland, during the annual meeting of Commission 7 in 1995.

The following six statements were the basis for the Working Group’s further activities:

The statements were further discussed during the annual meetings of Commission 7 in Delft, Netherland, 1995; Budapest, Hungary, 1996; and Penang, Malaysia, 1997. The reactions and comments that were sent to the Working Group from all over the world showed, that

• the trends stated in the statements are confirmed and considered to be useful for the resolution of the problems of the different national societies;
• the time to achieve changes will depend on the starting conditions and the political, economic and social situation of the different national cadastral systems;
• in some developed countries, there are projects going on, which go in the direction outlined by the statements;
• the land administration procedures must be re-engineered to relieve them of the often complicated processes and multiplied components, which were necessary to make secure cadastral systems operated in the traditional manner;
• there is a need for mental changes within the profession in order to take advantage of the new cadastral approach;
• political efforts are necessary, besides professional development and training, to achieve new and better solutions, matching the needs of the society.

5 Investigation on services requested by users of the cadastre

Interviews with bankers, organizations of land and house owners, and officials of land registration authorities, brought the following results:

• The aspect of public law is missing in the traditional land registry systems; there is an urgent need for a systematic documentation also of public restrictions.
• The information security and transparency of public law rights and restrictions has to be on the same level as the civil law rights and restrictions. A main obstacle for the creation of an integrated cadastral system is seen in the slow political decision-making procedures.
• Such modern, integrated cadastral systems may be operated by private organizations, under the condition that a strong and competent governmental supervision exists and that the state law guarantees the rights and ensures that restrictions are not misused.
• Cost recovery is seen as a means to achieve fair financial charges for private and public users of the cadastral system. The interest of public authorities in cadastral information will be much higher in a system documenting the total legal conditions of land. Therefore the costs for implementing and running such a cadastral system can be distributed to a larger number of users.
• The fusion of the geographic and descriptive parts of a cadastre is seen as a possibility to improve effectiveness and efficiency of the cadastral system. The separation creates additional costs.

6 Investigation on Cost Recovery and Privatization

The Working Group established in 1996 a second questionnaire which focussed on more precise and internationally comparable information about cost recovery and privatization aspects in the cadastral domain worldwide.

Questions about the following aspects of cadastral systems were asked:

1. general statistics and content of the cadastral systems
2. performance, reliability
3. completeness
4. personnel and salary structure
5. cost recovery.

The questions were answered by representatives of 54 countries or states. The results of this survey have been the basis of the delegate’s national reports at the 1997 annual Commission 7 Meeting in Penang, Malaysia. The answers were compiled by the secretary of the Working Group, Daniel Steudler. It can be obtained from the secretariat of the Working Group.

On behalf of Commission 7, the material was processed further to serve as a basis for benchmarking cadastral systems. A paper has been published by Daniel Steudler, Ian Williamson, Jürg Kaufmann, and Don Grant under the title ‘Benchmarking Cadastral Systems’ in the periodical The Australian Surveyor in September 1997.

7 Final report of the Working Group

At the 1997 annual meeting in Penang, the Working Group agreed to the content of the final report to be presented at the 1998 FIG Congress in Brighton.

The report describes the actual situation of the cadastres and the trends of further development. It presents the ‘Vision Cadastre 2014’, defining the new tasks and a possible design for future cadastral systems. The necessary activities for the implementation of a new Cadastre system is outlined, and the contribution of FIG, the national member organizations, and the individual surveyors to support the creation of modern cadastral systems is defined.

Based on the six statements, the ‘Vision Cadastre 2014’ states, that:

‘Cadastre 2014’ is a methodically arranged public inventory of data concerning all legal land objects in a certain country or district, based on a survey of their boundaries.

‘Cadastre 2014’ is a totally computerised land register, containing all relevant legal information about land.

‘Cadastre 2014’ will be an organisation, where the public sector ensures legal security of land matters and is responsible for the supervision. The private sector will be doing the operational work.

‘Cadastre 2014’ will no longer be financed by public funds only. The money invested into this registration system must be paid back, at least partially, by the users of the relevant information.

‘Cadastre 2014’ will be managed by a new type of land manager, the ‘Surveyor 2014’.

The ‘Surveyor 2014’ must have excellent capabilities in the domain of sustainable utilization of land by the individuals and the communities. These surveyors must have particular skills in the appreciation of the legal aspects of land use defined by private and public legislation.

The ‘Surveyor 2014’ must have the ability to use the most modern technology for the localization, the documentation, and the exploitation of real and legal land objects.

‘Cadastre 2014’ will not automatically develop from the traditional land registry systems. Its implementation must be promoted by FIG and its national member organizations.

The full report of the Working Group is available in booklet form which can be obtained from the secretariat of the Working Group.

REFERENCES

Steudler, D., editor (1995): "Modern Cadastres and Cadastral Innovations." Proceedings of the One Day Seminar held during the Annual Meeting of Commission 7, Cadastre and Rural Land Management, of the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG); May 16, Delft, The Netherlands.

Steudler, D., I.P. Williamson, J. Kaufmann, and D. Grant (1997): "Benchmarking Cadastral Systems". The Australian Surveyor, Vol. 42, No. 3, September, pp. 87-106.

AUTHORS ADDRESSES