Surveying - More important than ever
Surveying was critical to the development of our nation – in fact all four of the presidents on Mount Rushmore were surveyors or map-makers and many of those who fought for our independence were surveyors. Thomas Jefferson was the author U.S. Public Land Survey System which bases land divisions on a rectangular grid. This system became law in 1785 and continues to provide the backbone of economic development to this day.
In the United States, we take for granted that we can find out who owns a specific piece of property. A professional surveyor can quickly provide a legally defensible answer to where property lines lay. However, in many parts of the world, a nation-wide survey system has not been established, or lost due to wars or economic crises.
Surveying is essential to economic development
It is in these countries where surveyors are taking the lead in laying the foundations for economic development. According to Olumide Ogundipe, professor of civil engineering at Ekiti State University in Nigeria, “Surveying promotes environmental management and conservation activities. Sensitive sites are located and isolated. Surveying helps in limiting/ discouraging unplanned and inappropriate land development. Maps produced by land surveyors are major instrument for addressing flooding, erosion, landslides, which are major environmental problems. Surveying has had positive impacts on communities and the peoples’ wellbeing. Proper delineation and registration of lands help to reduce crisis between communities and states[1].”
Mozambique
United States Central Intelligence Agency. (1995) Mozambique. [Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency] [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
It is impossible to have a stable country without a system that records land ownership that is tied to land surveys. For example, in Mozambique, after the country became independent in 1975, the ownership of all land was nationalized.[2] The country adopted an economic system based on central planning, hoping to create successful farming collectives – an approach that was never fully implemented due to continuing armed conflict.
By 1990, a new Constitution was created that allowed the allocation of property rights to private individuals (though all land is still owned by the state). Then, the question of who can use the land became very fraught as there were several systems in place – formal and informal. The formal Public Cadastral Services had access to out-of-date cadastral atlases to sort out the land rights and often processed requests without field work, leading to problems at the local level.
In this largely rural country, the problem became so critical that in 1997, a new land law was created with the help of the international community. This law was intended to keep the land in the hands of the people who lived there, supporting the native industries, such as forestry, farming, mining and so on. Although the land is still owned by the state, it allocates a legal right to land users called a DUAT[3]. These DUATs describe how the land is to be used and whether it’s individually held or held by a community or corporation.
This dual approach, though good in theory, has been difficult to manage. The implementation of the law has been hampered by the chronically weak public land management / land administration sector, as well as by corruption and abuse[4].
Clearly, a strong land management effort would make a huge difference in helping the country make the best of its resources. The International Federation of Land Surveyors (FIG) is part of the effort to help the country develop the necessary data, including establishing its borders[5], registering its land, and developing a national land cadastre[6].
International Federation of Land Surveyors (FIG)
Each year, FIG Working Week highlights the on-going work of surveyors throughout the world, including surveyors in countries where their work is leading the way to economic stability. This year’s meeting in Orlando features presentations on Blue Surveying with surveyor contributions from Croatia, Italy, Belgium, New Zealand, UK, China, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana. Other tracks include AVM & Digital Twins, Drones, Advances in Geo AI and more.
Berntsen has supported FIG for years and will be exhibiting at FIG Working Week in Orlando, Florida, May 28 – 30. We are also offering a one-of-a-kind FIG commemorative medallion that will only be available from May 22-June 16, 2023. Limited quantities will be available at booth 407, or you can purchase it online here.