Accelerated land administration updates

Land administration is about determining, recording, and disseminating land information (UNECE 1996). Land information is a fundamental ingredient in state-backed land tenure systems, valuation systems, land use planning, and land development (Enemark 2004). In most developing countries, land information is created as part of large countrywide land registration projects financially supported by international donors. However, creation must be followed by maintenance: lasting effects on tenure and land market facilitation require that systems keep running long after donors leave (Magis and Zevenbergen 2014). To remain useful, a land administration system must reflect the reality on the ground and this is only possible when all changes in land information are reported (Zevenbergen 2002). Indeed, Williamson et al. (2010) assert that if the changes are not captured in state-backed land registers, the system loses societal relevance and is eventually replaced by an informal system.