The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

The United Nations Economic Commission for EuropeVirginia Cram-MartosDirector, Trade and Sustainable Land Management Division

Geospatial World Forum, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

15 May 2013

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe56 member States in Europe, Central Asia and North America

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Eight thematic SubprogrammesEconomic cooperationEnvironmentForestryHousing and land managementStatisticsSustainable EnergyTradeTransport

15 May 2013, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

ECE-FAO Forestry and Timber Section, GenevaECE Committee on Forests and the Forest Industry &FAO European Forestry Commission

4 Work Areas of the ECE-FAO GenevaData AnalysisPolicy/Management AdviceCapacity Building

Pan-European and global reporting on forest resourcesJoint Forest Sector QuestionnaireJoint Wood Energy EnquiryShort-term forecasts for Europe and North AmericaData

Reports on State of Europes ForestsGlobal Forest Resource AssessmentsSustainable Forest ManagementForest Products Annual Market ReviewsOutlook StudiesForests and Economic DevelopmentEcosystem ServicesAnalysis


Worlds and regions forestsSource: FAO FRA 2010


Forests - Major Trends in the UNECE RegionSource : EEA 2006, SoEF 2011, TBFRA 2010


Supply and Demand in 2030Source: UNECE/FAO EFSOS II, 2011

Forestry and Geospatial data

Forestry and Geospatial Data


Forests in the ECE/FAO Region1.6 BLN HA 40% WORLDS FORESTSSource: FAO FRA 2010


Consumption of wood per capitaSource: UNECE/FAO 2011

Remote sensing in international forest reportingRemote sensing has many and varied applications Technological progress and the increased availability of data sets allowing comparisons over time are increasing the use of remote sensing technologies and informationNonethelessThere are still problems that prevent full realization of the potential

Remote sensing in international forest reportingWHAT IS MISSING?Comparability and interoperability across countries and regionsLinks between topographical map data and contextual data (land use, legal status, disaster impact, etc)Easy to use software including for data uploadingApplications tailored to end user needs

Remote sensing in international forest reportingWHY?National forest information systems are not harmonizedThe basic level of reporting is a country, which makes reference units extremely differentiated (Monaco Russia)Differences in scope, definitions and timing affect data comparability Missing data and process standardsSampling granularity differs widely and the less granular, the more likely that samples extrapolated into national averages may distort the actual situation (for example, in cases of disaster damage or landscape phenomena)


Remote sensing in international forest reportingOTHER ISSUESLegal national reporting is a prerogative of countries, international data cannot officially replace national dataNomenclatural internationally endorsed definitions of forests include two basic criteria: (i) land use and (ii) land cover. Obtaining information about land cover via remote sensing is feasible, information on land use is not commonly available Incompleteness - only some information can be assessed via remote sensing, some can still be generated only through land or records based systems (ownership, employment, species mix, etc)


Remote sensing in international forest reportingOTHER ISSUESNo one to one correspondences between many types of data so very different maps have to be overlaid, creating work/costs.Capacity insufficient knowledge and capacity in countries and organizations to analyze and utilize geo-referenced information

Remote sensing in international forest reportingOPPORTUNITIESMulti-national geospatial data sets from identical periods and based on a common methodology could: i) create more harmonized data; ii) support cross-border resource management; and iii) help us better understand forest dynamics Geo-spatial data could provide increased numbers of samples and measured variables which are more precisely geo-referencedLinking forest-related data with data from other areas (e.g. water, climate, other land uses) can create new uses, for example in measuring ecosystem services

Remote sensing in international forest reporting EXISTING APPLICATIONSFAO Global Forest Resources Assessment Forest Area Monitoring with the use of Remote Sensing SurveyTree Canopy density SurveyForests in Climatic Zones

European Forest InstituteForests in Europe by Forest Types (simplified classification: conifers, broad-leaves and mixed)

EU Joint Research IspraMonitoring of Forest FiresForest Connectivity and Fragmentation


Forests in climatic zonesSource: FAO FRA 2010


Forest connectivity change 2000 2006Source: EU JRC Ispra / SoEF 2011

The Committee on Housing and Land Management

Inter-governmental dialogueThe exchange of information Support for policy formulation and implementation:- In-depth assessments - Policy guidance and recommendations - Advisory services and capacity-building activities

UNECE Committee on Housing and Land Management STRUCTURE

Committee on Housing and Land ManagementWORK AREAS Land administration and managementSustainable housing and real estate marketsSustainable urban developmentCountry Profiles

Property registration and the structure of cadastres and land registries

Informal settlements

E-GovernmentCurrent priorities of the Working Party on Land Administration (WPLA)

The UNECE WPLA and property registration

Encourages registration, access to data, and data sharing between countries.Survey on the Benchmarking of Land Registration Systems, 2013/2014.

The UNECE and geospatial data land management

Urban and used land areas have expanded in the last 50 years:agricultural land +13%pasture land +10%,total forest area -15% World land cover, source: NASA

Property registration and geospatial media

WPLA publication Land registration and cadastre, one or two agencies, 2015

Informal settlements in the UNECE region

Significant in 20 UNECE countries, affecting over 50 million peopleSquatter settlementsSettlements refugees and vulnerable peopleUpgraded informal settlementsIllegal suburban land divisionsDilapidated urban housing

Challenges from Informal Settlements

Economic: Keeps funds from the formal sector and interferes with planningSocial: Can marginalize already disadvantaged groupsEnvironmental: Complicates regulation and compliance with standards

Informal settlements and geospatial media

E-Government and changes in EuropeLowers costs, brings faster serviceCan make auditing and fact-checking easierCan present new challenges of fraud and user verification

The UNECE and E-Government in land registration

The Challenges of Fraud to Land Administration Institutions (2011)

Collaborating for secured ownership, 29 to 31 May 2013, Uppsala, Sweden

E-Government and geospatial media

SummaryThe UNECE and geospatial data

THE BIG QUESTIONStandardized data and processes are needed In order to achieve the international semantic interoperability required for successThis will require close collaboration with a broad range of users, everyone working together around the same table.The tables are here, but where are the foresters, the farmers , the energy companies, the urban planners , and the government regulators ? Without them the geospatial industry will never reach its full potential

Thank you

Virginia Cram-MartosDirector, Trade and Sustainable Land Management Division

[email protected]

******Outlook studies:Based on detailed data on resources and their dynamicsScenario based approaches, taking into account supply/demand/trade aspectsCover forest and non-forest resources, including various forms of products/by-products and residues**Graph with the main outcome from EFSOS II*Satelite data is indispensable to analysing the state of the forests and its dynamics. Our member States and private sector partners use GIS-based surveying techniques to collect much of the data we use.********Multi-temporal data from different periods*Multi-temporal data from different periods*Worlds forests by climatic zones - Boreal 34% - Temperate 13% - Sub-tropical 9% - Tropical 44%*Changes in forest connectivity***The Committee works on addressing challenges in three main areas: Sustainable housing and real estate marketsLand administration and managementSustainable urban development One of its main tools is the Country Profiles on housing and land management, which analyze the situation in a particular member States upon request and provide country specific recommendations on how to improve. The work under Sustainable housing addresses issues relevant to energy efficient, healthy and safe housing. The work under Sustainable urban development responds to the growing importance of cities as stressed in the outcome document of the United Nations. Sustainable Development Conference The Future we want. In accordance with the recently conducted survey among UNECE member States, priority of work during the 2014-2015 biennium will be promoting spatial planning for compact cities (increasing density and efficiency of urban areas) and low carbon, climate neutral urban development. Emerging topics, such as smart cities, initiatives, which address information, communication and technology in urban planning and disaster resilience.*The primary organ to achieve the UNECEs land goals is the Working Party on Land Administration.

Current focuses of the work of the Working Party are: Improving property registration, addressing the challenges of informal settlements, helping countries to better use e-government, and analysing the administrative structure of land management agencies.*The survey is a very comprehensive survey of land management systems, including registration and cadastre, issued to all 56 member States, and is being updated to include 25 responses (previously 23). It covers the topics listed here.The purpose is to allow countries to evaluate their own systems of registration in order to make the necessary reforms, if any, to stimulate innovation, improve registration systems and promote standards of good land administration.Survey data is 2011. The results will be published in late 2013 or early 2014. [Document will be submitted this year but actual publication date cant be accurately predicted].*Spatial analysis is especially important for the management of land resources. The global use of land resources during the last half century has increased: agricultural land area has increased by 13% and pasture land area by 10%, while the total forest area has decreased by about 15%. Urban areas and areas used for rural settlements and infrastructure, which occupy today an estimated 1.1% of the global land mass, are also quickly expanding. The expansion of urban areas is especially a concern in Europe, where 75% of the population now live in cities. *[picture is from France] Governments and the private sector are developing tools to use geospatial media to increase property registration and to make the data more complete and accessible. In particular, there is a growing push to link registration databases to geodatabases or cadastres; this has been implemented unevenly in the UNECE region. These systems can link to data such as land boundaries, addresses, natural features and land values.Whether or not the land registry or cadastre agencies should be unified, or only cooperate, is a debated topic in our region, and examples of both structures exist. The WPLA is working on a study to analyze the pros and cons of a unified/non-unified cadastre and land registry, and to examine the conditions under which either system might be the best solution. This is especially important as more developed countries continue to provide guidance to countries who are just beginning to set up or modernize their land management systems.*[picture shows contrast of formal and informal housing in Greece] Affects countries not only in the east, but also in the west; in the Milan, Italy metropolitan area there are informal housing communities with tens of thousands of peopleFive types of informal housing:Squatter settlements on public and private land, such as in Tirana, where rural-urban migration swelled the citys population from 374,000 in 1990 to 618,000 in 1999.Settlements for refugees and vulnerable people, such as housing for 1 million displaced persons in Azerbaijan Upgraded informal settlements, where the settlers own the land but do not have building permits, and the land might be registered someday, such as Kaluderica in Serbia with 50,000 peopleIllegal suburban land divisions, often on the urban fringe, such as the Naples, Italy neighborhood of Pianura, where houses have no building permits but have been linked to public facilities by city officials.Dilapidated housing without adequate facilities in urban areas, which affects even Western European countries; a UNECE survey shows that in several Western European countries (Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain), nearly 1 in 4 homes is considered substandard (overcrowded, excessive dampness, insufficient lighting, lack of ventilation or lack of indoor facilities)*Economic: Public sector costs, from use of public land and illegal use of resources; impairs ability to manage and plan land use for the orderly growth of a city; creates housing which may be more affordable, but which cannot be used as collateral or mortgaged; informal houses may not be easily sold, creating dead capital

Social: Absorbs housing needs of some disadvantaged groups, like Roma; however, residents do not have secure tenure and face the risk of eviction; they are often not eligible for social and other services

Environmental: Influx of unregistered, perhaps non-paying residents stretches the capacity of infrastructure, including waste disposal; use of land may include deforestation or other destruction of natural habitat; residents may be more at risk to environmental hazards*Geospatial media is being used to help address these challenges in the UNECE region and around the world. Aerial imagery is used to map informal settlements to assess the problem. Cadastral data, data on construction permits, satellite and low-altitude imagery and vector data can be used to form a complete picture of the problem. It can also be used, just as importantly, to plan the re-design of populated areas which were built with little planning. Mapping an area and getting an accurate assessment of the current informal housing inventory and the actual situation is an essential first step in moving housing into the formal sector. This data can help to identify settlements where the land could be formalized or where it is not suitable for transfer, and also to identify land for new settlements.*E-Government technologies bring advantages efficiency of service, reduced costs and shorter wait times. It also brings challenges and can create new opportunities for fraud. Electronic registration and data access systems necessitate new tools to prevent fraud, such as network protection with firewall systems, access control with user authentication, electronic signatures to authenticate documents and encrypted communications and network connections.

International cooperation is the key to preventing fraud according to a Working Party on Land Administration survey [to produce the publication on fraud] 84% of UNECE member States believe that sharing intelligence between organizations across the UNECE region would help to combat fraud.

*WPLA workshop Collaborating for secured ownership, hosted by Lantmateriat, the Swedish Mapping, Cadaster and Land Registry Agency, will look at how e-government can be developed to give the single land owner better service and to serve society more efficiently. It will look at:National e-government experiencesTwo examples of e-services for citizens benefit (the Swedish tax agency and the introduction of a digital land registration system in Denmark)How geodata focused on property prices and valuation contributes to more efficient land administration

*[picture and information on Russia is from ArcNews on ESRI website, http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/fall11articles/russia-introduces-e-government.html]Governments are working to make data, including geodata, more accessible to their citizens and so enhance the E-Government experience. Well presented geodata allows citizens to receive documents, make decisions and conduct property transactions more quickly. It can also allow home-owners to better plan and register changes to their homes. Russia, for example, has developed an e-government portal with more than 60 million land parcels in the system, accessed by 12,000 users per day. This website brings together descriptive data of over 2,500 organizations and allows users to access 300 Gigabytes of data over the Internet.*In the trade and sustainable land management division, we dont have projects related to geospatial data. However, access to geospatial data is very important in order to ensure effective decision-making at the national, regional and international levels. Member States Governments are using data to monitor land use changes, urban growth, informal housing developments and environmental degradation. It can help to better integrate the various data on land, such as zoning regulations, entitlements, ownership, physical characteristics and construction information. Geospatial data are also important at the international level to understand how to manage shared natural resources that cross national borders. **

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