Cultural issues in land information systems

Abstract

This paper considers the cultural dimension of applying the land information (LIS) concept to lands held under customary land tenure. The paper recognises that the LIS concept has been primarily developed to serve the needs of countries using a Western-styled land market where individual land rights are the norm. However, many countries where customary land holdings exist, or predominate, are also wishing to establish LIS to better manage their land resources.
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\n The paper has three main parts. In the first part, Western LIS concepts are reviewed, placing their development in a historical perspective. This includes a sample of the main attributes of land that would be stored in a typical LIS. The paper then reviews the main features of customary land tenure systems which distinguish them from the western systems. Drawing examples from Fiji, where one of the authors is involved in establishing an LIS, the paper compares the rights in land under Western tenure to those under customary tenure, and discusses the cultural implications of including these attributes in an LIS.