TOWARDS BEST PRACTICE FROM WORLD BANK EXPERIENCE IN LAND TITLING AND REGISTRATION

1 fax c/o US (202) 477 2733 Abstract and Background a. Currently the World Bank is supporting at least 13 implemented land titling and registration projects with a total loan value of about US$550 million. This represents about 1% of total World Bank lending on an annual basis, which is significant. This compares with the decade of the 1980s when about US$150 million was lent for just three projects. The current projects are in Algeria, Argentina, Bolivia, El Salvador, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Russia, Venezuela, and Thailand. Furthermore, at least ten more projects are under preparation including those in Armenia, Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Peru, Romania, Ukraine, and Viet Nam. b. This World Bank experience is presented as representative of some of the current world wide activity in land titling and registration, in a search for lessons and best practice. Also it is considered somewhat representative of similar support by other multi-laterals and certain bi-laterals agencies. The Asian Development Bank is currently supporting studies or projects in Viet Nam, Bangladesh, and in one province in China. The European Union is supplying technical assistance in at least Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Poland, and Russia. The Inter-American Development Bank is active in many Central and South American countries, while bi-laterals such as USAID are providing technical assistance including to Russia, Ukraine, Albania, Armenia, and Kazakhstan. Also AusAID is currently supporting projects or providing TA including in Thailand, Indonesia, Laos PDR, Viet Nam, and Huinan, China. c. From such projects come diverse worldwide experience and lessons, several of which this paper will analyze including: major objectives and scope; institutional considerations; legal and selected technical issues; training and education; the information technology dimension; selected topics including traditional and community land rights; and transparency and ethics in land registration operations. 1 This paper is presented informally by a consultant to the World Bank. The views and interpretations herein are those of the author and should not be attributed to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations, or to any individual action on their behalf.