LAND MANAGEMENT TRENDS

 A REPORT OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMISSION 7

WORKING GROUP

ON LAND MANAGEMENT

Paul Munro-Faure

Abstract

 Commission 7 identified three areas for Working Group activity at the Melbourne Congress in 1994. Working Group 3 was assigned the task of looking at Land Management Trends into the 21st Century.

 The paper looks at the particular tasks and areas of activity identified by the Working Group and at how they are being tackled.

 It reviews in particular the proceedings and outcomes of the one day international conference held in Budapest in 1996 as a part of the Commission’s annual working meeting. The focus of the conference, "Land Management in the Process of Transition" was particularly relevant to many surveyors and to the profession as it is developing in the transitional economies. The demands of reorienting the former socialist economies’ experience of professional activity related to land into experience relevant to a market economy context are very substantial and need to be appropriately addressed. The one day conference provided an excellent opportunity for a wide ranging discussion of the experience of FIG member countries in this field.

 1. The Three Working Groups of Commission 7

 The Melbourne Congress in 1994 provided an opportunity for Commission 7 to finalise its consideration of the most appropriate approach to accomplishing work during FIG’s four year inter-Congress periods. Prior to Melbourne the relatively ad hoc approach to devising the Commission’s work programme had tended to result in a proliferation of Working Groups with relatively little to bind them together. Some of these Working Groups generated considerable amounts of material, but others produced relatively little.

 There was a consensus at Melbourne that a more planned approach would generate better results, both in terms of relevance to member associations, and in terms of providing opportunities for individual delegates within the Commission to participate actively in the work of the Commission.

 It was decided that a maximum of three Working Groups would be formed, with working briefs spanning the interests of the Commission. As a result the following three Working Groups were established:

These three Working Groups reflect the breadth of the Commission’s interests, encompassing both the Cadastre and Land Management.

 It was envisaged that specific situations during the four year term might require an ad hoc working group to be established. A particular instance of this was the deliberation, creation and publication of the FIG Statement on the Cadastre, which was published following the Berlin Permanent Committee meeting in 1995. The success of the work of the ad hoc working group may be measured by the fact that this publication has been widely translated and is now available to many member associations in their own languages!

The model for the work of the three Working Groups established has turned out as follows:

 generation of appropriate publishable material in the specified area of interest

organisation and holding of an appropriate one day international conference as a part of the Commission’s annual meeting

active involvement of a wide range of member associations and their delegates in the work of the Working Group

This paper reports on the activities of Working Group 3, Land Management Trends. It provides an outline of the objectives of the Working Group, its work programme, progress to date, and the major outcomes and obstacles.

 The paper also provides a review of the papers and presentations made at the one day international conference held in Budapest in 1996.

 2. Tasks and areas of activity identified by Working Group 3

 The first meeting of the Working Group took place at the Commission’s annual meeting in Canada in October 1994 following the Melbourne Congress. The members of the Working Group identified three key areas and issues as forming the structure for its work:

 research and preparation of material relating to land management trends for publication,

development of an appropriate one day international conference on the subject of "Land Management in the Process of Transition", to be held during the Commission’s annual meeting in Hungary in 1996,

promotion of networks in land management education, particularly in relation to the needs of educational establishments in the transitional economies where market economic approaches will become the norm.

2.1 Land and land management: the outlook for the 21st century

 The publication element was discussed at length. It was decided that it would be beneficial to look at the possibility of preparing a publication or publications that would reach outside the surveying community in order to increase awareness of others about the key role of surveyors in the vital economic function of land management. The theme of such a publication was identified as being "Land and land management: the outlook for the 21st century", with a strong and topical emphasis on the environment and sustainability.

 The Working Group identified several possible formats for publication at the Commission’s 1995 annual meeting in Delft. These were, in order of preference; published book, special edition of relevant Journal, and FIG congress proceedings. Possible publishers were investigated and recommendations prepared for the Commission’s annual meeting in Hungary in 1996.

 A brief was prepared for the text as a whole and for each individual chapter, with authors for individual chapters identified largely from within the Commission’s own delegates. These briefs were circulated to authors for further development and as the basis for discussion. By the end of the Commission’s 1996 meeting in Hungary, the basic format for the publication was agreed.

 The proposed text is planned to incorporate sections on:

political issues, including legislation and implementation,

economic issues, including discussions of the impacts of information technology, and of market economics, and the roles of the public and of the private sectors

environmental issues, including urban development, agriculture and rural development, forestry, and coastal and marine development

An ambitious timetable was proposed in Hungary for the work on preparation of the publication. Although there has been some slippage in the timetable, the majority of the detailed chapter outlines have been submitted and these are now being collated into a formal presentation to the proposed publisher. This will allow the timetable for final preparation and writing to be firmed up.

 2.2 Conference element

 The Working Group formulated and prepared a one day conference on Land Management in the Process of Transition which was held during the Commission's annual meeting in 1996 in Hungary. The format for the one day conference was agreed, with emphasis on the situation in Hungary and reviews of the experience of member countries elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe by delegates to the Commission.

 MORNING

 Session A: General perspectives on Land Management

Paper

1 The European dimension and land management - Policy Issues

(J Sonnenberg, the Netherlands)

2 Frameworks for land management

(P Munro-Faure, UK)

3 The European dimension and land management-Implementation Issues

(M Griffiths, UK)

 Session B: The Hungarian Experience

Paper

4 Development of the land management framework in Hungary

(A Ossko, Hungary)

5 Land management challenges in the public sector in Hungary and possible solutions

(J Hoffentranger, Hungary)

6 Land management challenges in the private sector in Hungary and possible solutions

(I Tassy, Hungary)

 Land and property management software displays

 AFTERNOON

Paper

7 Land management in Slovenia; legal frameworks, management challenges in the public and

private sectors

(J Rezek and R Rener, Slovenia)

8 Land management in Slovakia; legal frameworks and management challenges in the public and

private sectors

(M Dzur-Gejdos, Slovakia)

9 Land management in Latvia; legal frameworks and management challenges in the public and

private sectors

(A Rausis, Latvia)

10 The Private Sector and Land Management; a perspective from the Czech Republic

(I Pesl, Czech Republic)

11 Education and Profession Building for Land Managers; the Experience of Poland

(A Hopfer, Poland)

 Session D: Panel discussion session

 Authors of presented papers formed a panel on Land Management in the Process of Transition, and the Commission provided rapporteurs

 The conference proceedings were assembled and edited for publication by the UK delegate to the Commission, Mark Griffiths. The FIG Bureau provided financial assistance for the publication of the proceedings and these are available from the chairman of the Commission, Ian Williamson.

 The latter half of this paper reviews the papers presented in the conference.

 2.3 Research and education element

The Working Group is developing an initiative in this area in the context of Commission 2's and the Commonwealth Association of Surveying and Land Economy’s (CASLE) initiative to compile a list of approved surveying faculties.

 There are relatively few land management courses included in the listing outside the Commonwealth. This reflects the traditionally predominantly land surveying interests of several FIG member associations, and yet land management, as a part of the defined surveying function, is very important.

 The development of such a network will form a very valuable basis for reciprocal contacts, particularly in the transitional economies where faculties of land management and related subject areas are making great efforts for their teaching and resources to embrace market economy experience. It is essential, for this to be successful, that there should be networking which facilitates the exchange of experience and ideas.

 3. The Budapest Conference, 1996: "Land Management in the Process of Transition"

 The theme of the Budapest Conference was selected to reflect the fundamental importance of the changes underlying the process of transition for land and its management. The move from a centrally planned economy to a market economy requires vital changes in the institutions of land and property. It was therefore a natural topic to look at in Hungary in the context of the experience of the Central and Eastern European countries in this area of development.

 3.1 Session A: General perspectives on Land Management

The first session of the conference presented a set of general perspectives on land management, providing a framework and context for the sessions that followed.

 The first paper introduced the day’s proceedings with an interesting discussion on policy issues relating to the European dimension and land management. It focused on the role of land consolidation in rural areas ("land consolidation") and in the context of urbanisation ("land readjustment"). The paper did not address the approach to land management adopted in the UK, where the surveyor "... who really manages the land and acts as a steward or an estate agent ..." has a far wider involvement.

 The reallocation of ownership and use of rural land takes place on the basis of several steps:

inventory of rights on the land and valuation of the land

drafting and confirmation of the reallocation plan indicating new parcels and owners

implementation of the reallocation plan

financial arrangements

The paper emphasised that there has been a considerable reduction in activities of this kind in recent years, although, in the context of the Netherlands, its use for environmental reasons remains of some significance.

 Land readjustment in urbanisation is a tool whereby:

urbanisation of new areas

conversion and rehabilitation of previously urbanised areas

integration of large facilities

 - can be achieved using special legislation or voluntary procedures.

 The main land management process relating to land in Central and Eastern Europe at present is, however, one of land reform; including both restitution and privatisation.

 The paper looks at the possibility of introducing consolidation as a part of the restitution procedure in order to improve the efficiency of the land use structure, and suggests the following advantages:

no need to restore the original boundaries

improvement of the agricultural structure

improvement of the infrastructure

improvement of nature and landscape

flexibility in the settlement of differences between total of claims and total of available land

activation of the land market (transferability of claims)

The second paper looked at the frameworks for land management, characterising the changes that have taken place in the transitional economies and identifying the key areas for adjustment. Many of the these fundamental economy-building functions relate to the ownership and management of land and buildings; areas where surveyors in the broad FIG definition have a strong role to play.

The paper identified the requirements for the successful privatisation of land and property and the creation of a market in these assets as including:

title to all parcels of land should be soundly based in law within adequately defined boundaries and should be properly recorded, whether dealing with absolute (freehold equivalent) title or state leasehold

transactions in land should be recorded in such a way that legal title and other significant legal interests can be subsequently proven with reasonable speed and at reasonable cost

access to capital finance based upon an effective mortgage system should be available through a commercial banking system

access to insurance should be available through commercial insurers

statute and other law should not impose undue statutory or fiscal constraints on transactions, whether sale/purchase, leasing or otherwise

statute and other law should provide reasonable certainty in the use rights and potential use rights conferred by ownership of land

expertise should be available to advise on legal, valuation and other issues affecting the land

It noted the importance of a reasonable degree of consistency and consequent confidence in national policies in this area.

The paper concluded by outlining the professional skills requirements, how they are being developed to meet these challenges, and at how professional associations are at the forefront in many transitional economies in trying to develop acceptable standards of practice and codes of conduct.

The concluding paper in the first session looked at the European dimension and land management in the context of the land management related initiatives of the European Union, to which the countries of Central and Eastern Europe are generally keen to accede. The paper reviewed the EU’s involvement in land management issues as falling into three main areas; free trade, agricultural policy and protection of the environment, with the latter being of greatest significance during recent years.

 The EU’s directives on the environment cover water, waste, air, harmful substances, radioactivity, wildlife and countryside, noise, and environmental impact assessment. Specific review in the paper of the Nitrates Directive (dealing with water pollution) and the Habitats Directive (conservation of habitats and protection of species) and of their enforcement provided an insight into the scope of these legal instruments, and of how member countries seek to implement them within their own legislative frameworks.

 The paper looked at the need for Central and Eastern European Countries to adapt existing practice in the process of accession, and cited estimates of Ecu 300bn over the next 15 years to raise the quality of the environment in the potentially acceding countries. The EU’s Phare programme has specifically targeted Ecu 400mn in this environmental area since 1989 to the 11 partner countries, but the paper concludes that the difficulties should not be underestimated, particularly with regard to legislative harmonisation and enforcement.

 3.2 Session B: The Hungarian Experience

Three papers were presented in the second session of the day looking at different aspects of the host country’s experience in land management.

 These papers provided a detailed insight into the historical background to Hungary’s current restitution programme.

 In the agricultural sector, the programme itself, and the controlling legislation, have resulted in the creation of 2 million new agricultural land parcels on 5 million hectares of agricultural land. The cultivation of this land is as a result largely uneconomic, leading to calls for new land consolidation and land development policies.

 Other land and buildings outside the agricultural sector has also been progressively privatised since the 1980’s. Mass privatisation of residential property, and the property of state owned enterprises started in 1990, with a succession of measures designed to accelerate privatisation and reduce the state’s role in the economy.

 The private sector’s perspective on land management challenges on Hungary’s former co-operatively owned agricultural land identified many problems in the development of the land market. The paper specifically observes that introducing land consolidation procedures costing billions "... will mainly be a waste of money ...", and that using the money to promote the development of a land market would be money far better spent. At present, for various reasons, much agricultural land is farmed on lease arrangements; lack of requirements to record such transactions make it difficult to be more specific than this.

 Priorities in relation to land management outside restitution and privatisation have also included:

environmental protection

land use and land protection

land classification and valuation of agricultural land

development of a viable land market

The particular land management challenges faced by the public sector were considered in detail, for both Treasury property and State-owned entrepreneurial property. Clearly, a significant proportion of property has been removed from state ownership, but the state remains as the owner of substantial property assets. The state is aware of the importance of effective management of the property resources that it continues to own, both in terms of generating revenue from the assets, and of preparing them for privatisation.

 Many difficulties in implementing these laudable aims were identified ranging from the length of time taken for real property disputes to go through the courts (an average of two years), to the lack of Detailed Settlement Plans (town plans).

The papers raised a string of interesting and thought provoking conclusions about the problems that have been and are being faced, and about tasks for the future to develop an effective land management framework in Hungary.

In summary these are:

complete privatisation/restitution of land and property

complete efficient organisation of government agencies dealing with land/land market development (including Land Registry)

develop appropriate training of staff to professional levels in relevant fields by transfer of foreign know how

move towards harmonisation of relevant laws with EU

how to manage "vastly increased" local authority property ownership as the state divests itself of its property

3.3 Session C: Central and Eastern European solutions

The papers analysing the experiences of Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Poland provided further breadth to the debate in the third session.

 The emphasis of these papers ranged from consideration of the developing legal frameworks and land management challenges in the public and private sectors, to looking at the development of education and profession-building for land managers.

The papers indicated an important series of common threads, many of which were reflected in the experience of Hungary’s transition:

legislation, and the rapidity of development of appropriate legislation causes problems, but is essential to promote clarity of ownership and market efficiency

investment requirements in public infrastructure particularly in the context of registration of ownership

financing and cost recovery where possible in land management related processes particularly in registration, and mapping/information

education

4. Concluding comments

Commission 7’s Working Group on Land Management trends is working on an ambitious programme to broaden the Commission’s awareness of, and involvement in land management.

 This is part of a longer term strategy to develop the involvement of surveyors beyond their perception of land management as land consolidation, into the wider ranging responsibilities identified in the opening paper of the Budapest Conference organised by the Working Group on Land Management trends. This wider range of responsibilities is an integral part of the formally accepted and published FIG Definition of a Surveyor.