UNITED NATIONS MEETING OF CADASTRAL EXPERTS

TERMS OF REFERENCE

The UN Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific held in Beijing in 1994 resolved as follows:

The United Nations, with the expert assistance of the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) and other relevant organisations, support the preparation of a regional and global compilation of optional components of a cadastre, including legal aspects, land policy, institutional arrangements, technology and economics.

The preparation of case studies of cadastral systems and cadastral reforms, such that countries of the region engaged in establishing or reforming a cadastre may be aware of various options and learn from the success and failures of others.

As a result, a Cadastral Expert Group Meeting will be held in Bogor, Indonesia from 18-22 March, 1996. The United Nations is working closely with the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) in organising the meeting.

In simple terms the meeting is required to develop a document setting out the desirable requirements and options for cadastral systems of developing countries in the Asia and Pacific region. The meeting recognises that all countries have particular needs and requirements but that countries at similar stages of development have some similarities in their requirements. As such the meeting will look at the requirements of three groups of countries, namely newly industrialised countries such as Indonesia, countries at an early stage of transition such as Vietnam and the South Pacific countries.

The meeting will adopt the definition and description of a cadastre as set out in the FIG Statement on the Cadastre (see Appendix 5). Reference will also be made to the two previous UN meetings of cadastral experts as follows:

• United Nations 1973. Report of the Ad Hoc Group of Experts on Cadastral Surveying and Mapping. New York.

• United Nations 1985. Conventional and Digital Cadastral Mapping. Report of the Meeting of the Ad Hoc Group of experts on Cadastral Surveying and Land Information Systems. Economic and Social Council E/CONF.77/L.1.

However the key to a successful cadastral system is one where the three main cadastral processes of adjudication of land rights, land transfer and mutation (subdivision or consolidation), are undertaken efficiently, securely and at reasonable cost and speed. As such the meeting will concentrate on these three cadastral processes to help identify desirable or appropriate options for cadastral systems. In considering the range of options differences will be highlighted for the three groups of countries identified above.

For each of the processes appropriate options will be identified during the meeting under the following headings:

• institutional
• technical
• legal
• social
• economic

In order to prepare for the meeting each participant from either a developed or developing country is requested to prepare material on the following topics for their country, state, province or jurisdiction as appropriate. Please prepare overhead transparencies for each topic as set out below.

1. Current organisational structures for managing the cadastre (both land registration and cadastral surveying and mapping) (one overhead transparency)
2. Approximate statistics (one overhead transparency) on the cadastral system (if there are no official statistics provide the best guess) for the entire country including:
   • total number of land parcels including private and government lands divided into rural and urban categories
   • number of parcels with a complete cadastral survey
   • number of parcels held under some form of title registration
   • number of parcels held under other forms of official tenures
   • number of parcels with no cadastral survey and no title
   • number of new parcels created annually
   • number of parcels transferred annually
   • number of parcels surveyed, adjudicated and issued with a title or deed annually
   • percentage of parcels in urban areas which are shown on cadastral maps
3. Describe the land transfer process and show as a series of dot points on one or two overhead transparencies. Identify the respective roles of the land owner, purchaser, surveyor (?), lawyer (?), government agencies, local authority or village etc.
4. Describe the process to adjudicate land rights and show as a series of dot points on one or two overhead transparencies. Identify the respective roles of the land owner, surveyor (?), lawyer (?), government agencies, local authority or village etc.
5. Describe the mutation process (subdivision or consolidation) for land parcels and show as a series of dot points on one or two overhead transparencies. Identify the respective roles of the land owner, developer (?), surveyor (?), lawyer (?), government agencies, local authority or village etc.
6. Describe on one overhead transparencies the three best aspects of the cadastral system
7. Describe on one overhead transparencies the three least desirable aspects or aspects in most need of improvement for your cadastral system