Cadastral Surveying Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

5. CADASTRAL SURVEY IN ETHIOPIA

5.1. Main activities and general objectives

The overall objectives of a cadastral survey is to create national modern land information and
property registration (cadastre)system, which will lead to a vibrant land market increased
economic development secure real property rights and more efficient land use. By carried out
of different survey works, like marking corner of each property, preparing of map, collecting
of different non-spatial data’s and then linkage of all these data.

The general, objective of cadastral survey is to develop an accurate cadastral mapping

including its socio-economic data using the application of GIS.

And are the specific objectives are:

 conducting the cadastral survey work

 establishing different control point

 collecting socio economic data

 integrating the socio economic data with cadastral information system

 generation of GIS data layer through a process of digitization

 preparing cadastral map

5.2. Socio economic data

Socio-economic data are data about humans, activities, and the space and/or structures used to
conduct human activites. Specific classes include.

 Demographics/age, sex, ethic and marital status, education,

 Housing (quality, cost)

 Transportation

 Economic/personal income, employment, occupations, industry, regional growth)

Mizan-Teppi University Department of Surveying

Engineering
1
Cadastral Surveying Chapter Five

 Retailing (customer location, store sites, mailing lists)

In general the socio economic data explain the basic facilities, identified codes and address of
the user or owner ship, societies and institutions. And brief historical background of acquiring
use right and ownership in the land and properties in consideration, the type of tenure-ship and
are of the parcel, the acquisition type of the land tax paid annually and the presence and type
of major disputes and litigation on the property and utility service and other more data’s
explain the socio economic data. The socio economic data have certain merits and demerits.
Some general merits of socio economic data are:

 enables to get clear information about the parcels owner ships/users

 enables to know the density of population on the area

 helps to find out the social infrastructures used by house holds

 to search out the social problems and desired service

 to get information about land acquisition type in the area

 helps to know the amount of tax paid and soon.

The socio economic data have also some demerits:

 It is difficult to organize and fill

 It is boring and time taking to collect so that they might not also cooperate in collecting

 It is difficult to get the real information from the society and others are some the
disadvantages of socio economic collection.

5.3. Cadastral Information System (CIS)

Cadastral refers to a map or survey showing administrative boundaries and property lines.
Cadastral information system (CIS) is a system that consists of two sub-systems i.e. cadastral
map system and land register system. A land register system contains information about real
property owners and other kinds of matters created outside cadastral domain such as mortgage.

Mizan-Teppi University Department of Surveying

Engineering
2
Cadastral Surveying Chapter Five

A cadastre administration is very important for the owners to register and get a certificate for
their own specific property or cadastral. The government would use this information and use
the outputs from cadastral and land registry system as input for other projects like water
supply and highway projects.

In this section, the researcher focuses on the importance of CIS concept and four successful
projects are used for developing this system.

5.3.1. Benefits of CIS

 Speed up the collection and processing of cadastral data (in future if more land parcel
will be added).

 Make significant reduction in cost, time and space required to retrieved cadastral
records.

 Prevent unnecessary duplication and reduction of digital and hard copy data.

 Prevent financial frauds and corruption

 Accelerate efficiencies of customer services and processing of data for external and
internal purpose.

 Facilitate the monitoring and analysis of market and rental values of land properties.

 Enhance improved estimation of taxes and other compulsory payments.

5.3.2. The important role of the cadastre in the society

Most jurisdictions have some form of registration of legal documents, ownership, or use
rights. In some cases a new system may be introduced to replace existing systems or informal
arrangements.

In the most countries a good working system to guarantee the security of land tenure has been
established. With a long history of land registration in this country it is a proven fact that a
good working system of security of land tenure is very important for a developed society and
as well for a developing country. The consequences of a land registration system badly
maintained or even not existing can be demonstrated with the experiences of countries.

Mizan-Teppi University Department of Surveying

Engineering
3
Cadastral Surveying Chapter Five

Investments in land and buildings have been very difficult or even not been possible before re-
establishing a land registration system like in the rest of the country. . The cadastral system in
this country with its addition contents in maps and records now has the function of a basic
Land Information System.

The main activities of cadastral information system include the following Steps

 Conducting cadastral surveying through survey of all government and public properties
(boundary of building, Land parcel etc.) within the city administration boundary.

 Plotting the collected survey data in Auto CAD or GIS for each land

 Preparation of cadastral map

 Collections of socio-economic data for each land parcel (land use, ownership etc.)

 Preparation of socio-economic data base

 Linking of non-spatial data with spatial data.

 Finally providing the information in the form of CIS using GIS

5.4. Importance of GIS in CIS

The Geographic Information System has been an effective tool for implementation and
monitoring of municipal infrastructure. The use of GIS has been in vogue primarily due to the
advantage mentioned below:

5.4.1. Planning of project

Advantage of GIS is often found in detailed planning of project having a large spatial
component, where analysis of the problem is a pre requisite at the start of the project.
Thematic maps generation is possible on one or more than one base maps, example: the
generation of a land use map on the basis of a soil composition, vegetation and topography.
The unique combination of certain features facilitates the creation of such thematic maps.
With the various modules within GIS it is possible to calculate surface, length, width and
distance.

Mizan-Teppi University Department of Surveying

Engineering
4
Cadastral Surveying Chapter Five

5.4.2. Make better decisions

The adage "better information leads to better decisions" is as true for GIS as it is for other
information systems. A GIS, however, is not an automated decision making system but a tool
to query, analyze, and map data in support of the decision making process. GIS technology has
been used to assist in tasks such as presenting information at planning inquiries, helping
resolve territorial disputes, and sitting pylons in such a way as to minimize visual intrusion

5.4.3. Visual Analysis

Digital Terrain Modeling (DTM) is an important utility of GIS. Using DTM/3D modeling,
landscape can be better visualized, leading to a better understanding of certain relations in the
landscape. Many relevant calculations, such as (potential) lakes and water volumes, soil
erosion volume (Example: landslides), quantities of earth to be moved (channels, dams, roads,
embankments, land levelling) and hydrological modeling becomes easier

5.4.4. Improve Organizational Integration

Many organizations that have implemented a GIS have found that one of its main benefits is
improved management of their own organization and resources. Because GIS has the ability to
link data sets together by geography, it facilitates interdepartmental information sharing and
communication. By creating a shared database one department can benefit from the work of
another data can be collected once and used many times.

5.5. Land information system (LIS)

Land information system (LIS) Means to acquire, manage, retrieve, analyze, display land
records.

 LIS as component of GIS or vice-versa... a long-standing debate, mostly a matter of

semantics and disciplinary orientation.

 Typical LIS:

 cadastre as a primary component

 maintained by unit of government responsible for tracking land ownership,

control; typically county government in US

Mizan-Teppi University Department of Surveying

Engineering
5
Cadastral Surveying Chapter Five

 parcel-oriented

 hard copy maps and/or CAD or GIS software for spatial representations

 relatively large (cartographic) scale (e.g., 1:4800 in rural areas, 1:1200 in

developed areas)

 bridge between legal (e.g., deeds) and technical (e.g., maps, GIS coordinates) land
descriptions

 may incorporate other technologies

 parcel indexing systems (relational data base management systems)

 fiche and document imaging systems

 surveying

5.5.1. Land Tenure

Rights and obligations in land, along with system for defining and governing. Difficult to
capture all tenure rights in a land information system -- multiple dimensions.

•definition of rights

 "bundle of sticks" -- all the possible ways of using land, allocated between individuals
(and organizations) and the state (or other form of society)

 rules and procedures defining who possesses which sticks -- can be MORE EXPLICIT
and MORE COMPLETE with automated land information system

 responsibilities -- obligations of tenure possessor, e.g., land taxation, environmental

protection

5.5.2. Land records

Components of legal and fiscal cadastre maintained by local governments (typically counties)

Many components amenable to automation; appropriate data models still evolving

 titles -- a description of a land parcel, potentially including:

Mizan-Teppi University Department of Surveying

Engineering
6
Cadastral Surveying Chapter Five

 description of location or boundary (e.g., bearings and distances survey description,

metes and bounds description, public land survey system reference, lot number in
platted subdivision, etc.)

 Method of conveyance (e.g., warranty deed, quit claim, etc.)

 deeds -- registration of land transaction with public authority (Register of Deeds)

 land transaction are between individuals (no government guarantee)

 only required government record is real estate transfer tax notice

 registration is essentially voluntary, though typically done to support claim to

land

 grantor and grantee used to organize records

 chains of title -- a fully supported land claim must be traced back to original
conveyance from government or crown, evidence tracing through all transactions to
present is chain of title; abstract is summarization of chain of title

 Indexes -- to make chains of title easier to research, Register of Deeds may create
grantor/grantee index, or parcel index. If all parcels are uniquely identified and linked
to GIS representation, can search spatially into parcel index

 Tax roles, tax maps -- other than Registry (which is maintained as public service) the
main interest of local government in land ownership information is tax assessment.

 Tax roles and associated tax maps:

 Account for all lands, their value and their owner.

 may or may not be directly linked to Registry

 may or may not be derived from deed/title descriptions

 often used as source of data for GIS (Registry typically not involved in mapping)

 often not maintained at accuracy needed to convey land, only to assess and collect
taxes

Mizan-Teppi University Department of Surveying

Engineering
7
Cadastral Surveying Chapter Five

 Related "layers" -- assessment, zoning, permits, etc.

 private records

 title insurance - private backing of title validity

 title abstracts - summarization of evidence about ownership

 plat maps -- approximations of land ownership parcels, derived from a variety of

public and private data sources

5.6. Land Information Systems and Cadastral Applications

5.6.1. Introduction

This unit describes the origin, components, functioning, and uses of land information systems,
with particular emphasis on systems for maintaining cadastral (land ownership) data.

5.6.2. Importance of cadastral records and land information systems

The following are some of the importance of cadastral records and land information system:

 access to and use of land are fundamental to life as we know it... food, fiber, habitation,
recreation, and so forth

 land parcel is the basic unit for access and control of land, land use decisions

 current, reliable land information necessary for many public programs, for example:

• land planning

• infrastructure development and maintenance,

• environmental protection and resource management

• emergency services

• social service programs and so forth

 basis for land markets, development, and other economic activity

Mizan-Teppi University Department of Surveying

Engineering
8
Cadastral Surveying Chapter Five

5.6.3. GIS Issues in land records

 relating "legal" description of property to coordinate-based systems

 ambiguous or overlapping boundaries

 complex attribute relations

 public access

5.6.4. Definitions

Cadastre

 broad context -- description of legal and fiscal interests in land

 typical context -- land ownership records

 a joke -- combination of a cadaver and a disaster

 Legal cadastre - parcel-based description of interests or rights in real property;

typically supported by titles or deeds, and registry.

Functions of a legal cadastre:

• define property rights (often in conjunction with formal and case law)

• describe the extent (spatial, sometimes temporal) of property rights

• support land transfer

• provide evidence of ownership (e.g., using land as collateral)

• program administration (e.g., enforcement of laws, targeting of incentives)

• public land management

 Fiscal cadastre - property valuation and land taxation.

Functions of fiscal cadastre (from Dale and McLaughlin, 1988):

• information base for property taxation

• distribution of funds from public programs

Mizan-Teppi University Department of Surveying

Engineering
9
Cadastral Surveying Chapter Five

• monitoring and supporting land markets

• information for growth management and land use planning

5.7. GIS in Land Information System (LIS)

LIS is devoted to the problem of developing efficient information systems based on such land
units and have proven knowledge of establishing LIS mainly based on experiences gained
from integrating existing Cadastres, Land Register and Valuation Systems.

LIS should be understood as a framework of detail knowledge of the interrelations between

areas related information. Our international experience has toughs us that traditional package
solution seldom works since each country has its own infrastructure and administrative
procedures.

LIS design has been developed in a modular fashion for LIS applications, and it has proven
through the development of an integrated LIS for the Cyprus Government that

LIS can form a natural basis for comprehensive, multipurpose land information systems of
great importance for improved planning management and control.

LIS can be implemented by a locally selected software addition to the implementation of the
system offers a number of consultancy services that can support the transition in the technical
and administrative areas.

The terms GIS and LIS are sometimes used interchangeable. They do have many similarities,
but the distinguishing characteristics between the two are that LIS has its focus directed
primarily to ward land record data. Information’s stored with in a LIS for a given locality
would include a spatial data base of land parcel information derived from property description
on the U.S. public land system; other types of legal descriptions such as meets and bounds or
block and lot that apply to parcels in the area; and other cadastral data. It might include the
actual deeds and other records linked to the spatial data. Information on improvements and
parcel values would also be included.

LIS and GIS can share data source such as control networks, parcel ownership information,
and municipal boundaries. However, a GIS will usually incorporated data over a broad range

Mizan-Teppi University Department of Surveying

Engineering
10
Cadastral Surveying Chapter Five

and might include layers such as topography, soil types, land cover, hydrograph, depth to
ground water, etc. Because of this narrower focus, there is a tendency to consider a LIS as a
subset of a GIS.

LIS are used to obtain answers to questions about who ownership or interests in the land in a
certain area particular nature of those interests, and the specific and affected by them, they can
also provide information about what re-sources and improvements exist in a given area, and
give their values, answer to these questions are essential in making property assessments for
taxation, transferring title to property, mortgaging, making investment decisions, resolving
boundary disputes, and developing roads, utilities, and other services on the land that require
land appraisal and property acquisitions. The data are also critical in policy development and
land-use planning.

Mizan-Teppi University Department of Surveying

Engineering
11