New Directions in Land Administration

The role of property in fostering good governance, robust economies, and strong civil societies has received fresh attention in the wake of the dramatic global changes that have occurred during the past decade. Innovative and cost effective ways to formalize property rights have emerged, linking these with new strategies and tools for building and maintaining the infrastructure necessary for sustaining a property regime. Land administration functions have been re-engineered and there have been legal reforms that have focused on modernizing, standardizing, and simplifying legislation relating to land and property. There have been new concepts of risk management, the introduction of new technologies, and a variety of organizational reforms. Many of these reforms have been the consequence of political changes, especially as a result of the collapse of communism, the adoption of a market driven approach to the economy and the impact of information technology. The processes of re-engineering have focused on a diverse package of measures dealing with land tenure security, land and property transactions, and access to credit. They have also been concerned with the provision of support for physical planning, the sustainable management and control of land use and of natural resources, and facilitating real property taxation. Internationally funded projects have also been concerned with the protection of the environment, the provision of land for all people whatever their gender but especially for the poor and ethnic minorities, and the prevention of land speculation and the avoidance of land disputes. As Burns et al. have reported: . . . The policy environment for land titling projects is becoming more complex, and a range of issues must now be addressed if a project is to pass through a Multilateral or Bilateral funding agency’s approval process. These include impact on gender, impact on the environment, resettlement requirements and impact on indigenous groups (Burns et al 1996). . . . Gender issues, fix example, are becoming increasingly important with the international funding institutions demanding that gender equity be present both in law and in practice; this requires performance indicators to demonstrate compliance with the regulations.