Appendix to item 9.7
Report for the 24th General Assembly
FIG Working Week in Seoul, 6-11 May 2001
COMMISSION 7 - CADASTRE AND LAND MANAGEMENT
One of the main highlights of the Commission's work in this millennium year
has, as always, been the Commission's annual meeting. This took place in Hamburg
from 14-19 May. An enormous amount was achieved at the meeting, and the
Commission is deeply indebted to all of those who were a part of the
organisation and who took part in the meeting. It was critical in setting the
agenda for the Commission's three Working Groups to complete their work in time
for the 2002 FIG Congress in Washington DC.
The meeting was organised by Dr Winfried Hawerk, our German delegate, and
Gabrielle Dasse, together with an enthusiastic and delightful band of helpers.
The programme was not only great fun, but it worked smoothly, with exactly the
right mixture in a full programme of hard working sessions, discussion and
relaxation. The generous hosting of the German Associations, the welcome from
the City of Hamburg and the real interest shown in the Commission's work by our
German colleagues were symptomatic of the heart-warming hospitality that we
received.
The meeting was attended by 35 delegates from more than 20 countries. In
addition to the Working Groups' development and progress, particularly useful
reports were received on the status and initiatives from the Commission's two
Task Forces, on Standards (Winfried Hawerk) and on Women's Access to Land (Agneta
Ericsson - Sweden). The Working Group's proposed Guidelines have been drafted
and will be brought to the General Assembly in Seoul for consideration at the
Working Week in 2001.
The Commission's one day international symposium on the theme of Working
Group 3, Land Markets, was attended by more than 60 delegates and was chaired
and organised by Andras Ossko, our Hungarian delegate. The papers delivered were
of a high quality, and will be published as part of the output of the Working
Group. They stimulated vigorous discussion. Some provoked fascinatingly
contrasting views on appropriate approaches to resolving land related problems
in transitional economies. Although there was a strong focus on land markets in
Central and Eastern Europe, and particularly on the German experience, there was
a truly international range of presentations ranging from South Africa (Apie van
den Berg), through Europe (Bodil Ekner from Denmark, Peter Dent from the UK and
Jan Sonnenberg from the Netherlands) to Australia (Ian Williamson).
The strong attendance and contribution of delegates from Germany for this one
day symposium reaffirmed the importance of this regular event in the
Commission's annual calendar.
The Commission's delegates split up after the conclusion of the Hamburg
meeting. Some returned to their respective countries, but two groups made their
ways in the directions of Prague, Czech Republic and of Bregenz, Austria. Some
particularly energetic delegates - including our vice chair, Paul van der Molen
- even managed to achieve the impossible of being in both places almost at once!
The Prague delegation, including of course our Czech delegate, Ivan Pesl,
enjoyed a very interesting FIG Working Week, and the hospitality of the Czech
Association. The Commission's contribution to the proceedings included a well
attended session on cadastre and land management. The session comprised a number
of stimulating papers from a wide range of geographical locations. The
Commission's current and future activities were reviewed, and the work of the
three Working Groups on Cadastral Reform, Access to Land and Land Markets was
discussed. There was again an emphasis on issues from Central and Eastern Europe
with excellent papers reporting on developing land markets in Central and
Eastern Europe by Richard Baldwin and Peter Dale from the UK, and on the
difficulties in establishing information for EU accession countries for CAP
purposes (IACS), by Carsten Kragh from Denmark. The Czech Association's delegate
to the Commission, Ivan Pesl, presented a detailed review of the transition
process in the Czech Republic, particularly as it has affected land and the
cadastre. The session was rounded off by a fascinating account of the South
Korean cadastral reforms, and of the prospects for the future by our Korean
delegate, Dr Ryu.
The meeting in Bregenz was the Austrian Geodetic Congress, held every three
years as the main congress of the Austrian Society for Surveying and
Geoinformation. About 1200 participants attended this event. Around 120 of these
delegates took part in the successful Commission 7 Working Group 1 session on
Cadastre 2014. The impact of the work of the group is illustrated by the fact
that the publication "Cadastre 2014" is now translated into 20
languages and has been very influential globally.
The session was chaired and organised by Gerda Schennach (Austria), and
featured papers by Andras Ossko (Hungary), Daniel Steudler (Switzerland),
Winfried Hawerk (Germany), Paul van der Molen (Netherlands and Commission vice
chair) and Jurg Kaufmann (Switzerland).
It is evidence of the strength of the Commission that it is able to provide
such excellent resources to two simultaneous international events, and all of
the presenters and organisers have the Commission's thanks and congratulations!
The Commission's busy summer continued with a substantial contribution to
"The Mediterranean Surveyor in the New Millennium" seminar, 18 - 21
September 2000. This seminar was designed as part of a regional seminar strategy
to help make FIG's expertise more accessible. The Maltese member association,
together with Commissions 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7, presented a wide range of papers.
The Commission 7 session was organised and chaired by our secretary, Bob Ashwin
Later in the year, the Commission's vice chair, Paul van der Molen, organised
a workshop at ITC, Enschede, the Netherlands, on "Capacity Building in Land
Administration", 13 - 15 November, 2000, in which several members of the
Commission took part.
Building on the Commission's contributions to the Working Weeks in South
Africa in 1999 and this year in Prague, a strong presence is planned to support
our Korean colleagues at the Working Week in Seoul, 6 - 11 May, 2001. Seoul
promises to be an outstanding meeting for the Commission and will provide an
opportunity for further work on the outline for our sessions planned for the FIG
Congress, 2002, in Washington DC.
The Commission's 2001 Annual Meeting will take place in Gavle, Sweden, 11 -
16 June, 2001, and will be hosted by the Swedish member associations. The
meeting will overlap with the UNECE Working Party on Land Administration meeting
and there will be valuable opportunities for interaction. The Commission 7
meeting is being organised by our Swedish delegates, Tommy Osterberg and Agneta
Ericsson. The one day International Symposium at the meeting will be the
responsibility of Working Group 1 chaired by Jürg Kaufmann, and it promises to
be an influential and exciting set of presentations. It will also be the first
year in which we deal with our Country Reports in a more structured way, to
enable us to use the material gathered more effectively.
Dr. Paul Munro-Faure
Chair of Commission 7
Email: paul.munrofaure@fao.org
1 March 2001
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