Cooperation on land policy between Colombia and the Netherlands
The Agustín Codazzi Geographical Institute in Colombia and the Government of the Netherlands will cooperate to advance on the implementation of land policy. The objective of this agreement is to offer a cooperation framework on land administration issues, including the development of faster, more affordable, transparent and participatory cadastral management, thanks to the Fit-for-Purpose methodology of Het Kadaster, that contributes to progress in the fulfilment of the peace agreement.
Memorandum of Understanding
This Memorandum is the result of a project between the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Dutch Kadaster and several Colombian entities. The Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Colombia, Jeroen Roodenburg, the Director of the Colombian Geographical Institute Agustín Codazzi (IGAC), Olga Lucía López and the Director of the Netherlands´Kadaster, Frank Tierolff, signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday 28 April, which will last for two years. Thanks to this MoU the technical cooperation between the two governments will continue, allowing an efficient and participatory cadastral update, which will facilitate the implementation of the land policy.
Multipurpose approach
This agreement is materialized in a pilot project in the rural and urban areas of the municipality of Cumaribo (Vichada), where the Fit-for-Purpose methodology is used to carry out the cadastral management of the properties with a multipurpose approach. This methodology is faster, more affordable, participatory and transparent, and through it, greater and better dialogue on property boundaries has been promoted among the population, including indigenous communities.
“One of the most important points of the peace agreement is the Comprehensive Rural Reform, where issues such as the implementation of the multi-purpose cadastre and land registration are key. The expertise of the Netherlands is already supporting Colombia to achieve this goal and we are ready to continue this collaboration. For this reason, a Memorandum of Understanding with the IGAC will allow us to replicate in other municipalities the work we are currently carrying out", said Ambassador Roodenburg.
Director López indicated that: “Updated cadastral information is key to the peace process, since it is a valuable input to regularize land ownership, mitigate the conflict over land and promote the development of the regions. Therefore, we encourage cooperation with the Netherlands, since the Fit-for-Purpose methodology contributes to the fulfilment of the goals of the National Development Plan ‘Pact for Colombia, pact for equality’ ”.
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; The Dutch Cadaster, Land Registry and Mapping Agency (Kadaster), and IGAC, will join forces to promote the following issues that have been prioritized in this collaboration:
- cadastral land management;
- training programmes, symposia and seminars on national policies over these topics;
- exchange of experiences and information,
- validation and exchange of technologies and successful experiences that can be adapted.
Land in Peace
This Memorandum is the result of the Colombian-Dutch project Land in Peace, which aims at formalising and registering land ownership in post-conflict areas using an innovative, agile, participatory and transparent methodology: Fit-for-Purpose, which uses rapid measurement of land parcels at low cost and of sufficient quality to provide a basis for a sound land registry.
It is estimated that 60% of rural properties in Colombia do not have legal property titles, which corresponds to approximately four million properties. This process of formalising land in rural areas is an important step towards peace in the country.
This project is carried out in three pilot areas: Cumaribo (Vichada), Apartadó (Antioquia) and Vista Hermosa (Meta). The implementation of the Land in Peace project in these areas is a positive boost for the regions and contributes to rural development in Colombia. Learn more about the project at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvNr7Y4mjGw&feature=youtu.be
More information
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