The ability to manage land in the national territory properly will make or break a country's ability to grow, prosper and succeed as a nation. The issue of land management has become so important to the development of emerging market countries that international bodies are now requiring that efficient land management systems be established and put into practice as a condition of receiving international funding for any project and as a condition of joining international bodies. The cause of these rulings and the business implications for the GIS community are examined below. In addition, the key components for successful land management systems are outlined. Political implications are discussed together with the benefits of efficient land management systems for governments.
Land management is the creation of an inventory of the national territory.
By definition, this is not only an inventory of land, but also of the country's resources. Land management systems inventory the land, the current ownership of the land, the past ownership of the land, the general history of the land parcel, liens or other encumbrances against the land, and possible future liens or encumbrances against the land. Such information components on a parcel aid in establishing the actual value of such a parcel for outright ownership or for leasing rights. In addition, the basis for the identification of the land parcel inventory is GIS spatial data which relates to the geographic coordinates as identifiers of the parcel. Much confusion exists in classifying land management systems as strictly GIS-based systems.