A new standard aims to improve the level of security of land tenure, with 70 percent of land in some nations remaining unregistered.
The UK's Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is among a coalition of 30 organisations working on the International Land Measurement Standard (ILMS).
It aims to bring about consistency in land and property transaction reporting standards worldwide.
ILMS will set a standard for classifying, defining and measuring land information which can be applied at regional, state, national or international level.
Around the world, levels of security around land ownership vary enormously. Some nations do not currently have embedded formal systems and up to 70% of land remains unregistered.
This does not mean that nobody owns the land but that the legitimate owners ‘rights’ over that land are not recognised in a formal system of land administration.
The consultation for the draft standard is an open consultation, and is due to close on 28 February 2018.
Sustainable Development Goal
The issue of land governance is prominent in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted in 2015 and within the New Urban Agenda global initiative.
The first of these SDG goals includes an ambitious target for all men and women to have equal rights to ownership and control over land and other forms of property by 2030.
Where land tenure and value is not formally recorded or known, land and property may be misappropriated; personal economic opportunities are restricted; land acquisition for infrastructure development is impeded by disputes and unfair compensation; would be investors face significant financial, legal and reputational risks; and governments cannot raise money through property taxation.
James Kavanagh, Global Land Standards Director, said land and its effective use is a "keystone of economic and infrastructure development".
"The International Land Measurement Standard (ILMS) aims to bring security of tenure to millions. The standard is open for global consultation and we look forward to the participation from land professionals across the globe and the upcoming launch of the final standard," Mr Kavanagh said.
The final ILMS standard will be presented at the World Bank Land conference 20th – 24th March 2018.
