The fourth UK Land Policy Forum will take place at the Overseas Development Institute on 26 April, 1:00pm – 5:00pm.

For those planning to join in person:

• Location: Overseas Development Institute, 203 Blackfriars Road, SE1 8NJ, London. Directions to ODI can be found here: https://www.odi.org/about/contact-details
• There will be lunch from 1:00pm – 1:30pm, followed by the event itself from 1:30pm - 5:00pm

For those planning to join remotely:

• ODI uses the “Bluejeans” system, which is compatible with telephone, VC systems and personal computers. Instructions on how to join can be found below. If you have any queries, please email t.clark@odi.org.uk for technical support.

Bluejeans

To join via Browser:

https://bluejeans.com/412621296/browser

To join via Room System:

Video Conferencing System: bjn.vc -or-199.48.152.152

Meeting ID : 412621296

To join via phone :

1)  Dial:

                +1.408.740.7256

                +1.888.240.2560

                +1.408.317.9253

                (see all numbers - http://bluejeans.com/numbers )

2)  Enter Conference ID : 412621296

The 4th UK Land Forum meeting will discuss the use of new technologies to map and document land rights and their impact on land registration and administration. It will also provide updates on recent activities of Forum members, including DFID.

Background

The first Forum meeting — held on 4 November, 2015 at ODI — concluded that the purpose of the Forum is to provide a focus for debate, information and lesson sharing amongst UK stakeholders to inform DFID and wider UK policy and programming for strengthening of land governance and land rights protection.

Theme for fourth Forum meeting: New technologies to map and document rights – learning from DFID & other programmes

Recent innovations in technology are revolutionising efforts to document land rights and to open up access to land data around the world. Technology, such as GPS and drones, now allow practitioners to document land rights effectively at much lower cost, in even the most remote locations. While these innovations have the potential to help secure land rights for the estimated 70% of land in low and middle income countries that is currently undocumented, they are not without challenges. The use of such technologies require complex software and computer infrastructures, and their adaptation and use in resource-constrained environments requires financial and technical capacities to be in place. Different needs require different scales of technology, and technology use may need land policy to be adjusted to ensure that it fulfils national requirements and follows due process.

Key questions to discuss in this Forum:

1. What role can new technology play in driving down costs and accelerating the process of mapping and documenting rights and getting formal recognition?
2. How are the outputs being used by national governments in their formal land registration and administration system?
3. What are limits to, and challenges, of using these new technologies?
4. What other areas could technology contribute to in land governance and administration?

Aim

The fourth meeting aims to facilitate discussion around land and technology based on recent research and activities.

In addition, the meeting aims to:

1. Share what is new and interesting on the agendas of Forum participants; and
2. Identify themes for discussion for the next standing Forum meetings.