Collaboration between Policy and Technology is Key: Takeaways from 2021 Inter-American Conference on Cadastre and Property Registry

Photo source: Registro Inmobiliario

From Nov 2nd to 3rd 2021, Global Land Alliance’s Victor Endo and Monica Ribadeneira Sarmiento were in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic participating in the seventh Inter-American Conference on Cadastre and Property Registry (original language “Conferencia Interamericana de Catastro y Registro de la Propiedad”) known as #ConfCat21.

GLA’s Monica Ribadeneira Sarmiento and Ivonne Moreno with the World Bank on a panel for ConfCat21. Photo source: Registro Inmobiliario

Organized by the Dominican Land Registry, the Organization of American States (OAS), the Department for Effective Public Management, the National School of the Judiciary (ENJ) and in collaboration with the World Bank and the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB), the theme of the conference was “The pandemic and post-pandemic: contributions of the cadastre and property registration in the administration of the territory for economic recovery and social and crisis mitigation and climate change”. According to the organizers, cadastre and property registry are two key areas of modern public administration, and they constitute the core source of territorial information for public management. This information strengthens the rule of law and public planning to support the fight against corruption, mitigation of disasters, planning, design of public policy, housing, environment, and collection and collection of taxes, among others.

During the conference, Ribadeneira Sarmiento presented regional and global Prindex results on perceptions of tenure security. The presentation was part of the panel entitled “Regional Post-Pandemic Challenges of Cadastres and Registries Property” with co-panelist Ivonne Moreno, Senior Specialist in Land Administration at World Bank. The panel discussed case studies and potential scenarios where cadastres and registries support the LAC region with socio-economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Prindex offers an adaptable methodology to localize, with the potential to improve cadastres and registers to better serve local governments and land administration. 

GLA’s Monica Ribadeneira Sarmiento presenting regional and global Prindex findings at CatConf21. Photo source: Registro Inmobiliario

GLA’s Monica Ribadeneira Sarmiento featured in La República on November 3, 2021

The local newspaper, La República, featured the Conference on its front page, and specifically highlighted Prindex in its coverage. Several delegates expressed interest in collaborating and potentially using Prindex in their respective countries.

Victor Endo represented GLA in the off-conference workshop “Inter-Operable Cadastral Information Platform: towards a roadmap”. The objective of the workshop was to set guidelines for the implementation of an interoperable cadastral data platform in Dominican Republic. The workshop was organized by IDB and OAS to facilitate the dialog amongst DR land authorities who have recognized the need to overcome institutional fragmentation, legal and operational barriers that prevent information sharing and limits effective policy decisions. 

GLA’s Victor Endo presenting at ConfCat21. Photo source: Registro Inmobiliario

With this end in mind, GLA summarized the findings from the "Diagnostic Study of the DR Cadastral Services" commissioned by IDB in 2019-2020, as an objective, evidence-based background of the current situation of land administration and land information services in the country. The diagnostic findings were presented in the context of international best practices. 

Endo’s presentation was complemented by other presentations of experiences by delegates from Colombia, Uruguay and Spain, meant to share best practices. Working groups were organized to identify the main obstacles and strategies for how to overcome them.

A reoccurring theme of the workshop was that the inter-operability of cadastral information tends to be approached from the tech/IT focus, but it requires inter-disciplinary work. Strategic vision and high-level political support must be incorporated for the high-tech solutions to be effective. It is about collaboration both within government agencies and technological advancements.

The VII Inter-American Conference on Cadastre and Property Registry was a great opportunity for collaboration across the Americas in the field of land administration to improve the lives of so many. Global Land Alliance believes that better land governance occurs when we work together as an alliance to share knowledge and resources. We look forward to participating in many of these collaborative efforts.  

Photo source: Registro Inmobiliario