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Land
Administration
The
processes of land administration include the determination of
rights, interests and other attributes of the land, the survey
and description of these, their detailed documentation and the
provision of relevant information in support of tenure systems
and land markets. To do this, it is necessary to have
administering institutions that are accessible and accountable
and have both legal backing and social legitimacy. To be
accessible, these institutions must be appropriate and
affordable, and in circumstances where they must cater for
both the poor and the rich the services they provide must be
affordable with flexibility to cater for diverse customers or
able to adapt to changing social and economic conditions.
Land
Administration is an enabling infrastructure. It is
institutional, informational and service-orientated. Effective
land administration must: -
-
Secure
tenure through clearly defined and enforceable rights for
ownership, use or occupation of land or property
-
Accessible
means of dispute resolution
-
Efficient
and secure processes for transfer of property interests
-
Control
and regulation of land use in the public interest
-
Management
of public lands and commons
-
Processes
for equitable and transparent valuation and taxation of
property
-
Access
to and management of land information
Current
land administration trends emphasise:
-
security
of tenure and access to land
-
sustainable
land administration infrastructure
-
social
and economic equity
-
justification
of land titling and markets
Land
administration is a means to an end; it is a component of good
government and an essential ingredient for the orderly socio-economic
development.
However, the need for
land administration, or a form or model of land
administration, varies by context. Within a country or
jurisdiction there can often be found a division between urban
and rural land administration, illustrated by the ongoing global
campaign for secure tenure. Another
defining context would be in post-conflict situations; another
where there is increasing pressures on land, with disputes and
underlying drivers for tenure reform. Institutionally, land
administration is often divided into formal (national or local
government) or informal (customary) systems, with a blurred
and uncertain interface shaped by the performance of systems
and motivation of individuals.
In
a developing world context, land administration is typically
problematic: It is characterized by high transactions costs,
legal ambiguity, institutional and organizational dysfunction,
poor performance and unclear policy. Even so, there are
success stories, lessons learned from failure, and increasing
recognition that land administration must be appropriate,
transparent, and inclusive; above all, the systems (for there
can be more than one, or variants of the same) must be
affordable.
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LandAdmin.co.uk
LandAdmin.co.uk
is maintained by Sean G Johnson, who is currently working in Lesotho on
the MCC funded land administration reform programme as Director General
(designate) of the soon to be established Land Administration Authority..
>
More about
Sean and his work...
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