Cadastral systems III
The first (double) and second special issue on ΓCadastral Systems' and a special issue on 3D Cadastres in Computers, Environment and Urban Systems (CEUS) (Lemmen & van Oosterom, 2001, 2002, 2003a) underlined the relevance and interest of scientific, peer reviewed, publications in developments in cadastral systems, e.g. business context, legal and institutional framework, information management, dataand process-modelling, technical aspects, and business alignments to new information and communication technologies (ICTs). As noted in earlier editorials one of the problems related to publications in the Cadastral domain is the lack of a shared set of concepts and terminology, which makes the reviewing task quite difficult. International standardisation of these concepts (that is, the development of an ontology) could resolve many of these communication problems. With this in mind, we begin this editorial with an overview of current standardisation efforts, with specific focus on the role of the FIG (International Federation of Surveyors) in Section 1. As we will see later on, there are often other motivations behind these standardisation efforts, such as meaningful exchange of information between organizations, or efficient component based system development through applying standardised models. Section 2 of this editorial then provides an overview of the papers in this special issue.
1. Standardisation of the cadastral domain
It should be repeated that a cadastral system entails land registration, the Γadministrative/legal component', and cadastral mapping, the Γspatial component'. Together, these components facilitate land administration and a cadastral system provides the environment in which this process takes place. Data are maintained and disseminated in a distributed environment, which in principle means that data could be maintained by different organisations, such as municipalities or other planning authorities, private surveyors, conveyancors and land registrars--depending on the local traditions. Standardisation of the Cadastral Domain is in the initial phase and many non-co-ordinated initiatives can be identified. FIG Commission , ΓCadastre and Land Management', undertakes coordination efforts in this context.