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Securing Land Rights for All through Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration Approach: The Case of Nepal

Author

Listed:
  • Uma Shankar Panday

    (Department of Geomatics Engineering, Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel 45200, Nepal)

  • Raja Ram Chhatkuli

    (UN-Habitat, P.O. Box 107, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal)

  • Janak Raj Joshi

    (Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal)

  • Jagat Deuja

    (Community Self Reliance Centre (CSRC), Kathmandu 44700, Nepal
    Land Issues Resolving Commission (LIRC), Kathmandu 44620, Nepal)

  • Danilo Antonio

    (UN-Habitat/LHSS, P.O. Box 30030, Nairobi 00100, Kenya)

  • Stig Enemark

    (Department of Planning, The Technical Faculty of IT and Design, Aalborg University, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark)

Abstract

After the political change in Nepal of 1951, leapfrog land policy improvements have been recorded, however, the land reform initiatives have been short of full success. Despite a land administration system based on cadaster and land registries in place, 25% of the arable land with an estimated 10 million spatial units on the ground are informally occupied and are off-register. Recently, a strong political will has emerged to ensure land rights for all. Providing tenure security to all these occupants using the conventional surveying and land administration approach demands a large amount of skilled human resources, a long timeframe and a huge budget. To assess the suitability of the fit-for-purpose land administration (FFPLA) approach for nationwide mapping and registration of informality in the Nepalese context, the identification, verification and recordation (IVR) of the people-to-land relationship was conducted through two pilot studies using a participatory approach covering around 1500 and 3400 parcels, respectively, in an urban and a rural setting. The pilot studies were based on the FFPLA National Strategy and utilized satellite imageries and smartphones for identification and verification of land boundaries. Data collection to verification tasks were completed within seven months in the urban settlements and for an average cost of 7.5 USD per parcel; within the rural setting, the pilot study was also completed within 7 months and for an average cost of just over 3 USD per parcel. The studies also informed the discussions on building the legislative and institutional frameworks, which are now in place. With locally trained ‘grassroots surveyors’, the studies have provided a promising alternative to the conventional surveying technologies by providing a fast, inexpensive and acceptable solution. The tested approach may fulfill the commitment to resolve the countrywide mapping of informality. The use of consistent data model and mapping standards are recommended.

Suggested Citation

  • Uma Shankar Panday & Raja Ram Chhatkuli & Janak Raj Joshi & Jagat Deuja & Danilo Antonio & Stig Enemark, 2021. "Securing Land Rights for All through Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration Approach: The Case of Nepal," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-24, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:10:y:2021:i:7:p:744-:d:595612
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Karen Macours, 2011. "Increasing inequality and civil conflict in Nepal," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 63(1), pages 1-26, January.
    2. Stein T. Holden & Keijiro Otsuka & Klaus Deininger (ed.), 2013. "Land Tenure Reform in Asia and Africa," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-34381-9.
    3. Serene Ho & Pranab R. Choudhury & Nivedita Haran & Rebecca Leshinsky, 2021. "Decentralization as a Strategy to Scale Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration: An Indian Perspective on Institutional Challenges," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-18, February.
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    6. Jeetendra P. Aryal roresearcher & Stein T. Holden, 2013. "Land Reforms, Caste Discrimination and Land Market Performance in Nepal," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Stein T. Holden & Keijiro Otsuka & Klaus Deininger (ed.), Land Tenure Reform in Asia and Africa, chapter 2, pages 29-53, Palgrave Macmillan.
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    Cited by:

    1. Stig Enemark & Robin McLaren & Christiaan Lemmen, 2021. "Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration—Providing Secure Land Rights at Scale," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-12, September.
    2. Naghavi, Mohammad & Alesheikh, Ali A. & Hakimpour, Farshad & Vahidnia, Mohammad H. & Vafaeinejad, Alireza, 2022. "VGI-based spatial data infrastructure for land administration," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    3. Gaspar Mora-Navarro & Carmen Femenia-Ribera & Joan Manuel Velilla Torres & Jose Martinez-Llario, 2022. "Geographical Data and Metadata on Land Administration in Spain," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-19, July.
    4. Ho, Serene & Choudhury, Pranab R. & Joshi, Richa, 2023. "Community participation for inclusive land administration: A case study of the Odisha urban slum formalization project," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).

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