Cadastral Systems IV

The focus in this issue is on standardisation in the cadastral domain. A cadastral system entails land registration (the 'administrative/legal component'), and georeferenced cadas-tral mapping (the 'spatial/surveying component'). Together these components facilitate land administration, and a land-registry/cadastral system provides the environment within which the process takes place. In this editorial we review a range of recent developments and issues. One of the main dilemmas in the cadastral domain involves the lack of a shared set of concepts and terms. International standardisation of such concepts, that is, the development of a common ontology, could potentially resolve many problems. Motivations behind standardisation efforts include meaningful exchange of information between organisations and efficient, component-based, system development through the application of standardised models. Data is initially collected, maintained and—probably the most relevant issue in stan-dardisation—used and updated within a distributed environment. In principle this means that data could be maintained by different organizations, such as municipalities or other planning authorities, private surveyors, conveyancers and land registrars—depending on local traditions. Standardization of the cadastral domain is in the initial phase and many non-coordinated initiatives have begun to emerge.