Land Administration as a Cornerstone in the Global Spatial Information Infrastructure

This paper shows how standardization activities are progressing and contributing to the fact that Land Administration (LA) is considered more and more the cornerstone of the spatial information infrastructure. This is equally valid for regional, national, continental, and global levels, as will be illustrated in this paper. The paper describes the involved organizations and the current status of the LA standardization efforts. The crucial role that LA plays within the spatial information infrastructure is analyzed; including the relationship LA does have with other registrations and themes within the information infrastructure, of which some are non-spatial ones, such as persons. Special attention is given to a number of global aspects related to LA: combating slums (UN-HABITAT), stabilizing post-conflict areas, development of LA based on free/libre/open source software (UN-FAO) and climate change. Finally, the concept of ‘land administration levels of maturity’ is introduced and four stages of maturity are identified: 1. Standards, 2. Connectivity, 3. Integration, and 4. Network. The earlier described LA initiatives are assessed in the context of these levels of maturity.