Will the Shock of COVID-19 Finally Move Land Administration Into the Modern World?

Yuliya Panfil and Thierry Hoza Ngoga wrote for Thomson Reuters Foundation News about how officials must update archaic land systems to increase resilience for the future.

The unexpected health emergency caused by COVID-19 has revealed that it’s high time to reassess the preparedness and resilience of the land administration sector.

Technology, and in particular information and communication technologies (ICT), are critical to this endeavor. More than 60% of the world is now connected to the Internet, and an estimated 800,000 new users come online every day. Administrative agencies all over the world — not just in the Global North — should recognize this fact and allow customers to access land-related services and information remotely through the Internet, mobile technologies, data analytics, AI, and blockchain.

Over the last two decades, these technologies have helped governments and private service providers design and deliver actionable information and targeted services at scale. ICT aggregate different sources of data to mitigate knowledge and access asymmetries. And they are cheaper, more efficient, and more resilient than analog methods. They can facilitate socioeconomic development during best of times, and mitigate financial hardship during catastrophes like the one we are currently experiencing.

Read how paper-based land administration systems can modernize through four key steps here.