Dutch Ministry and Kadaster Join Forces for Worldwide Land Registration

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Kadaster, the Dutch bureau of land management, have joined forces to advocate the worldwide registration of land use and property rights in the short term. This cooperation was officially announced as the Partnership Land Administration for National Development (LAND) in The Hague, The Netherlands, on 11 June 2015.

Appropriate land registration is a condition for economic development. In 70% of the world, however, land rights have not (yet) been formally registered. The Partnership LAND’s purpose is to support start-ups for fast, cheap and reliable land registration in countries that have a need for this. Basic principle is the use of a new approach which focuses first on the demand for the registration of land and in a later phase on further development and refining.

Partnership LAND

Responding to the need of citizens, the Partnership LAND helps to improve land registrations in a smart and efficient way. Main goal is to offer security on ownership of land and on how citizens can and may use their land. The flexible and pragmatic help consists for instance of consultancy to and training of local governments, embassies and NGO’s, who can request Kadaster for its assistance.

The need for land registration

The world population is still increasing and so is the pressure on the use of land and of natural resources. To avoid land conflicts, a solid registration of property rights is crucial. For years, Kadaster has been assisting countries in improving their land registration. In Rwanda, for instance, Kadaster helped to formally register 10 million land parcels in the short period of a few years. Minister Ploumen (of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation): "With the – globally renowned - Dutch expertise, costs of land administration can be diminished substantially and legal titles of ownership and can be issued much faster. This will enable farmers to take out a loan and to cooperate with investors and companies. It gives the people a proof of their ownership and a view on better life."

Read more on the Partnership LAND.