LAC. We use standard parameters for cost of staff<sup>34</sup> and transport<sup>35</sup> and note that for the average kebele first-time certification required one month of preparatory field work by the land administration team, one month of joint field work by the two surveying teams, and an additional month of office work by the land administration team. We assume that existing office facilities can be used but that, instead of requiring LAC members to work completely voluntarily, field-work participants on any given day (assumed to be 5) receive at least their opportunity cost of B6 per day. With this, total staff and transport cost for the typical kebele add up to B 39,641. With about 1,554 land users who have 3.6 plots each, and adding B 4 per household for registry books and certificates, total cost of first-time survey under the current process would thus amount to B 29.5 per household or B 8.30 per plot. This value is close to the B 7 per plot obtained in an independent exercise to compare the resource and time requirements of various methods under actual field conditions carried out by the Ethiopian mapping authority (Alemu 2006).

In view of apparently high demand for a spatial reference, it will be of interest to identify the cost of a “second stage” that would add a map to the current process. To do so, all that is required is to add the cost of equipment and adjust time requirements to account for reduced speed. We consider two technical options, namely a high precision survey using electronic total stations and GPS which will produce results with cm-level accuracy (option one), and handheld GPS with an accuracy of about 1 m that will be sufficient for most of rural Ethiopia (option two). For option one, equipment costs and average speeds from a SIDA-financed pilot yield a cost of B 49.2 per plot or almost B 175 per household.<sup>36</sup> As option two would require less additional equipment and allow higher speed,<sup>37</sup> its cost of B 12.8 per plot or B 45 per household is only about 50% above the present process based exclusively on traditional technology.<sup>38</sup> To put these figures into perspective, it is useful to compare them to other countries. In Madagascar, where the official cost (excluding bribes) for titling on demand estimated to amount to US$ 150 (Jacoby and Minten 2006), projections put the cost of issuing certificates in a simplified low-cost approach at US 7-28

> 34 The two types of teams involved are (i) a survey team consisting of one EPLAUA (regional) surveyor, two woreda-level surveyors, and one driver and (ii) a woreda level land administration team consisting of a woreda land administration expert and two students hired for this purpose. Salaries are B 1200/month for EPLAUA surveyors (plus per diem of B 70), B 530 (with a per diem of B 47) for drivers, B 900/month (with a per diem of B 35) for both woreda surveyors and LA experts, and B 500/month (with a per diem of B 25) for students on the LA teams. Note that we assume a total of 20 field days but only 15 productive working days per month with the discrepancy made up by sick leave, training, and holidays. Costs are B 422.33/field day for the surveying team and of B 211.67/field day and B 126.67/office day for the land administration team.

> 35 In line with actual practice where vehicles were made available only to the survey teams, it is assumed that LA team use public transport, costs for which are assumed to be negligible and thus not included separately. The price of a vehicle is B 250,000 which, with a life of 100 months and 5% of annual maintenance implies a monthly cost of B 3541.67. With 150 km per day, 7.5 km/l, and fuel prices of B 4.33/l, 20 field days/month imply a cost of B 1732.00 for fuel or total monthly transport cost of B 5273.67.

> 36 The process requires two total stations (unit cost of B 80,000) and GPS (Unit cost B 45,000), both with a life span of 50 months and for computers and software of B 950 per month implies a total monthly equipment cost of B 5950, and B 13720 for the survey team and its car. As productivity in the pilot was about 30 plots per day in easy terrain and about 15 plots in difficult topographical conditions, we assume that a team covers 20 plots per day.

> 37 This process is assumed to use three handheld GPS (1 base station and 2 rovers) with a unit cost of B 8000 and a life span of 36 months, leading to imply monthly equipment cost of B 1617, computers included as well. While salary cost remain `s` the same, use of GPS is faster, allowing the team to cover 60 plots per day on average. Note that even a tripling of equipment cost (to B 24,000 per GPS) would increase total cost by only B1 per plot.

38 Although there might have been some cost savings from conducting first and second stage in parallel, the fact that the first stage has been started virtually everywhere in the country implies that this is no longer an option. This has the advantage that a spatial component can be added as and when there is -community-level rather than individual- demand for doing so. It implies, however, that appropriate measures to ensure that data remain up to date will be critical.

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