View article

For more than three decades, Ian Williamson, Stig Enemark, and Jude Wallace have been fascinated by land issues. Five years ago Ian and Stig decided to document their lives’ work in the land-related field. Both have a strong cadastral background with Ian having strength in institutions, particularly in the English speaking world, and Stig bringing knowledge of European systems with a focus on land management. They recognized the need for a strong legal perspective, which was provided by Jude, who has spent a lifetime working as a land policy lawyer. All recognized the need for solid technical support, with the expertise provided by Abbas Rajabifard, who has many years of experience in spatial data infrastructure (SDI) and geographic information systems (GIS). The end result is a book titled “Land administration for Sustainable Development” with all authors taking responsibility for the entire text. After a five year journey the book was published by ESRI Press in early 2010.

This paper overviews the philosophy of the authors as they explore the concept of land administration for sustainable development. The result is a practical treatise with a strong and universal theoretical foundation that explores the systems that administer the ways people relate to land. The authors believe their experiences are equally of use to both less developed and developed countries. This global context necessitated a holistic view of land administration as a central component of the land management paradigm. The authors have used this paradigm as the theoretical basis for delivering a holistic approach to LAS in support of sustainable development. While the …