In progress at UNHQ

DEV/2100

INTERREGIONAL MEETING OF EXPERTS ON CADASTRE BEGINS TODAY IN BOGOR, INDONESIA

18 March 1996


Press Release
DEV/2100


INTERREGIONAL MEETING OF EXPERTS ON CADASTRE BEGINS TODAY IN BOGOR, INDONESIA

19960318 NEW YORK, 18 March (DDSMS) -- A one-week meeting of experts on cadastre began today in Bogor, Indonesia. A cadastre is a register of land using cartographic and descriptive documents, which defines the precise boundaries of real estate and other property.

The meeting is jointly organized by the United Nations Department for Development Support and Management Services (DDSMS) and the National Surveying and Mapping Service of Indonesia, with assistance from the International Federation and Surveyors, a non-governmental organization accredited to the Economic and Social Council, and the Australian Agency for International Development.

Twenty-one experts from 15 countries, including scientists and high- level government and non-government officials from land management agencies, are attending the meeting, which is part of a series of events, referred to as the "Learning Year", leading to the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) (Istanbul, 1996).

The meeting is hosted by the National Surveying and Mapping Service of Indonesia, the Indonesian Government agency responsible for supplying cartographic data for land management and environment protection. The agenda and materials for the meeting were developed jointly by the United Nations and the International Federation, which also assisted in the selection of the experts. The meeting will facilitate the sharing of experience and contribute to capacity enhancement in this field.

Experts at the meeting will prepare a compilation of optional components of a cadastre, including legal aspects, land policy, institutional arrangements, technology and economics for the establishment of cadastral systems and conducting cadastral reforms. This would assist countries engaged in establishing or reforming a cadastre become more aware of the various options and learn from the experiences of others.

They will examine the socio-economic requirements of different groups of countries, cadastral processes for developing countries, links between land markets and cadastral processes, limitations to improving efficiency and effectiveness of cadastre and land markets based on the strengths and weaknesses of country capacities and other related subjects.

- 2 - Press Release DEV/2100 18 March 1996

The activities of the DDSMS in the field of cartography and cadastral survey aim at assisting countries, municipal governments and local authorities to promote policies and financial and administrative instruments to improve land and infrastructure management and to facilitate economic growth and the environmental sustainability of cities and rural areas.

The Department has a long history of assisting governments in the development and use of cadastral systems, with a mandate in cartography which began in 1955. It assists governments, at their request, in assessing national requirements for establishing or strengthening land surveys, topographic, cartographic and map-production institutions, cadastral and geographical information systems and hydrographic services. It has also cooperated with governments in formulating relevant technical cooperation projects to apply the results of operational research and the latest technological developments. The most recent example is a project in Bulgaria to establish a geographical information system for polluted agricultural lands, including the collection, processing and management of land information for the purpose of land resources management and development and environmental assessment.

A number of seminars and training courses for developing countries have been conducted. The results of meetings of United Nations ad hoc groups of experts on cadastre surveying and land management systems have been published in the proceedings of the United Nations Regional Cartographic Conferences and the World Cartography Bulletin. Also, in the framework of the pre-Habitat II events, the DDSMS organized the International Seminar on Geographic Information Systems, City Sustainability and the Environment in Cairo in December 1995.

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For information media. Not an official record.