In most Western European countries Land Administration System policies and technologies developed from a systematic and complete cadastral map. This was itself originally established as a basis for land valuation and taxation according to the use of land, particularly the yielding capacity of agricultural land. This promo-ted a classic ‘whole-to-part’ strategy, allowing Land Administration Systems (LAS) to support a more integrated approach to land management. By contrast, the ‘new world’, the USA and Australia, and many developing and countries ‘in transition’, focus on LAS to support efficient land markets and manage land-use policies. These systems are mainly designed to manage transfer of individual land parcels and have resulted in LAS and associated spatial data models that rely on ‘part-to-whole’ strategies. As a result, LAS cannot adequately support the management and decision making needed to handle wider economic, enviromental and social issues.

Unified Model
However, the constraints of local history are diminishing. While national strategies and models vary across European countries, common policies, strategies and technology solutions are becoming apparent, offering timely lessons for other regions in the world. LAS are increasingly being tested against an emerging vision of a more unified model appropriate for developed economies but also capable of providing direction for transitional economies. This vision reflects drivers of globalisation and technology development that support the establishment of multifunctional information systems incorporating diverse land rights, land-use regulations and other useful data. Another major driver, sustainable development, stimulates demands for comprehensive information about envir-onmental conditions in combination with other land-related data.

FIG Definition of Cadastre
A parcel-based and up-to-date land information system containing a record of interests in land. Cadastre usually includes a geometric description of land parcels linked to other records describing the nature of interests, ownership or control over these, and often the value of the parcel and its improvements. It may be established for fiscal purposes (e.g. valuation and equitable taxation), legal purposes (conveyancing), to assist in the management of land and land use (e.g. for planning and other administrative purposes) and enables sustainable development and environmental protection.


The Paradigm
Land management is the process whereby land resources are put to good effect. It encompasses all activities associated with the management of land and natural resources required for the achievement of sustainable development. Organisational structure for land management varies widely between countries and regions throughout the world, reflecting local cultural and judicial settings. Institutional arrangements may change over time to better support implementation of land policies and good govern-ance. Within this national context, land-management activities may be described by their three components: Land Policies, Land Information Infrastructures, and Land Administration Infrastructures in support of Sustainable Development. Land policy is part of national policy for promoting objectives including economic development, social justice and equity, and political stability. Land policies may be associated with:

• security of tenure
  
• land markets (particularly land transactions and access to credit)
  
• property taxation
  
• sustainable management and control of land use, natural resources and the environment
  
• provision of land for the poor, ethnic minorities and women
  
• measures to prevent land
  speculation and to manage land disputes.

• Land Tenure: allocation and security of rights in lands, legal surveys to determine parcel boundaries, transfer of property or use from one party to another through sale or lease, and the management and adjudication of doubts and disputes regarding rights and parcel boundaries.
  
• Land Value: assessment of the value of land and properties, gathering of revenues through taxation, and management and adjudication of land-valuation and taxation disputes.
  
• Land Use: control of landuse through adoption of planning policies and land-use regulations at national, regional and local level, enforcement of land-use regulations, and management and adjudication of land-use conflicts.
  
• Land Development: building of new physical infrastructure, implementation of construction planning and changes to land use through planning permission and granting of permits.

• Determining values, objectives
  and the legal framework in relation to management of land as a legal, economic and physical object.
  
• Basis for building sound land-administration infrastructures.

• Identification of land parcels and securing land rights.
  
• Facilitation of land registration, land valuation, and land-use control.
  
• Underpinning sound Land Ad-ministration.

• Administration of land tenure, land value, land use, and land development.
  
• Facilitation of efficient land markets and effective land-use management.
  
• Underpinning sound Land Management.

• Management of processes whereby land resources are put to good effect.
  
• Facilitation of economic, social, and environmental sustainability.
  
• Underpinning and implementation of sound Land Policies.

• establish a strategic approach to donor projects and ensure that capacity-building measures are addressed ‘up front’, not as an add-on
  
• develop national self-assessment procedures to identify capacity needs and thereby ar-gue for establishing the necessary measures for capacity development in terms of policies, legal framework, institutional infrastructure and human resources and skills
  
• promote creation and adoption of comprehensive policy on land development and establish a holistic approach to land management that combine land administration/cadastre/ land registration function with topographic mapping
  
• establish clear allocation of duties and responsibilities between national and local government (decentralisation). Ensure that principles of good governance apply when dealing with rights, regulations and responsibilities with regard to land resources and land development
  
• promote understanding of land management as highly interdisciplinary, to include a whole range of policy measures: social, economic, environmental, judicial and organisational
  
• promote need for interdisciplinary approach to ‘surveying education’ that combines both technical and social science and thereby links the areas of measurement science and land management through strong emphasis on spatial-information management
  
• establish strong professional bodies, such as a national institute of surveyors responsible for the development and control of professional standards and ethics, enhancement of professional competence, and interaction with government agencies to develop optimal conditions and services
  
• promote the need for Continuous Professional Development (CPD) to maintain and develop professional skills and promote interaction between education, research and professional practice.

• Dale, P., McLaughlin, J. D., 1999, Land Administration, Oxford University Press.
  
• Enemark, S., 2004, Building Land Information Policies, Proceedings of Special Forum on Building Land Information Policies in the Americas, Aguascalientes, Mexico, October 2004.
  
• Enemark, S., Williamson, I., Wallace, J., 2005, Building Modern Land Administration Systems in Developed Eco-nomies. Accepted for publication in the Journal of Spatial Science, December issue, Australia.
  
• UN-ECE, 1996, Land Administration Guidelines, Geneva.