UAV Technology: Opportunities to Support the Updating Process of the Rwandan Cadastre

Amongst others, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are emerging as a tool for alternative land tenurerecording. The advent of low cost, reliable and lightweight UAVs has created new opportunities forcollecting timely, tailored and high-quality geospatial information. Even though UAVs appear a promisingtechnology, it is not clear to what extent it can contribute to existing land tenure recording workflows ofcommunities and governments. The case study method was applied to obtain valuable insights into theopportunities of UAV technology to support the updating process of the Rwandan cadastre. Field data werecollected in Rwanda in February 2019, which encompassed several UAV flights and the consultation ofrelevant stakeholders. Additionally, a participatory mapping pilot study was initiated to allow the comparisonof the existing cadastral base data with parcel boundaries delineated on top of the plotted UAV orthophoto.Results revealed an apparent discrepancy of the spatial location and extent of both parcel datasets and pinnedthe need to update the cadastre. It was found that especially in areas with significant developments and apoor quality of the first level registration, UAV-based orthophotos provide profound and reliable base datafor participatory boundary delineation to update the spatial representation of the cadastre.