Formalizing Land Administration through E-Governance Mechanism in Sri Lanka

This paper proposes a comprehensive and practical approach to implement a land administration act in Sri Lanka followed by setting up a Land Administration Commission (LAC), which is a separate entity to maintain a Land Administration Database Management System in support of the land information collected and maintained by stakeholders who deal with matters related to land and its decision-making under e-governance concept. Also, It describes the operations of the four core functions: land tenure, land valuation, land use, and land development in land administration under a single sustainable national land policy, underpinned by spatial information under the e-Governance mechanism. Further, the paper identifies the stakeholders and their main responsibilities in each of the four core functions with the current issues in sharing information across stakeholders. Finally, the paper describes setting up a Land administration entity thereby empowering the LAC and introduces spatial information layers at different resolution levels in a centralized land administration spatial database to keep track of all land transactions carried out by each stakeholder. This approach will enable the top-level decision-making authority (the central level) to manage all land-related activities under one platform to contribute towards the sustainable land development of the country. It is proposed to implement this approach as a pilot activity in the district of Colombo and expand it in the entire country gradually with its output.

User and Systems Requirement Framework for Electronic Land Registration Systems Decentralisation in Ghana

Although land registration systems are constantly changing based on entrenched institutional frameworks,they cannot fulfill their technical objectives.Technical designs based on loopholes in the existing land registration system are the common steps in advanced countries.However,the missing link between the implementation of technical designs and their uses and users,affect the prospects of land registration decentralisation in developing countries.User and System requirements are used to integrate and enhance land registration services delivery across land information systems.This study assesses and develops framework for decentralised electronic land registration systems in Ghana.Semi-structured interviews were used to collect user and system requirement data from clients and technical staff of the Lands Commission in Accra.The framework pointed out five main policy outline strategies.These include land registration process modeling(process reduction and turnaround time monitoring),technical function(file tracking),the effect of changes in the registration loupe and absorption of land registration report,land registration workflow improvement,and the use of aerial images.The study recommends a systemic monitoring and evaluation of staff job roles.

An IFC-based database schema for mapping BIM data into a 3D spatially enabled land administration database

There are different processes in 3D urban land administration in which spatial analysis plays an underpinning role.Among 3D data models,Industry Foundation Class(IFC)provides the potential capabilities for modelling legal and physical dimensions of urban properties.However,performing spatial analysis using IFC files cannot address the on-demand spatial analysis requirements of 3D urban land administration.In response to this limitation,3D data needs to be stored in a spatial database to enable spatial analyses required by different stakeholders.Therefore,in this paper,by considering spatial analysis requirements in 3D-enabled urban land administration,an IFC-based database schema is designed.Moreover,a methodology for transforming Building Information Modelling(BIM)data into the proposed schema is provided.This methodology includes seven steps:designing the architectural model and adding legal data,georeferencing,IFC data validation and cleaning,mapping process,database data validation and cleaning,spatial analysis,and visualisation.To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed database,three datasets are implemented in the database.Moreover,a new method for modelling legal spaces with oblique structures and two applications of spatial analysis in 3D urban land administration are provided.

A graph-based representation of knowledge for managing land administration data from distributed agencies–A case study of Colombia

Multiple efforts have been performed worldwide around diverse aspects of land administra-tion.However,land administration data and systems’notorious heterogeneity remains a longstanding challenge to develop a harmonized vision.In this sense,the traditional Spatial Data Infrastructures adoption is not enough to overcome this challenge since data sources’heterogeneity implies needs related to harmonization interoperability,sharing,and integration in land administration development.This paper proposes a graph-based represen-tation of knowledge for integrating multiple and heterogeneous data sources(tables,shape-files,geodatabases,and WFS services)belonging to two Colombian agencies within a decentralized land administration scenario.These knowledge graphs are developed on an ontology-based knowledge representation using national and international standards for land administration.Our approach aims to prevent data isolation,enable cross-datasets integration,accomplish machine-processable data,and facilitate the reuse and exploitation of multi-jurisdictional datasets in a single approach.A real case study demonstrates the applicability of the land administration data cycle deployed.

A collaborative approach for urban underground space development toward sustainable development goals:Critical dimensions and future directions

The utilization of urban underground space(UUS)offers an effective solution to urban problems but may also negatively affect urban development.Therefore,UUS development needs better concerted guidelines to coordinate various urban systems and the multiple components of the underground world.Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs),which should be viewed as important yardsticks for UUS development,do not explicitly mention urban underground space,although many of them are affected by both the positive and negative consequences of its development.To fill this gap,this review lays the foundations of relevant UUS concepts and uses exemplary cases to reveal that 11 out of 17 SDGs can be linked with UUS uses.These linkages also manifest that land administration,integrated planning,architectural design,and construction technology are critical dimensions for increasing the contributions of UUS to the realization of SDGs.To achieve multi-disciplinary synergies among these four critical dimensions,a collaborative approach framework based on spatial data infrastructure is required.Thus,this work provides academics and practitioners with a holistic view of sustainable UUS development.

Applicability Assessment of the 1998–2018 CLDAS Multi-Source Precipitation Fusion Dataset over China

Traditional hourly rain gauges and automatic weather stations rarely measure solid precipitation, except for those stations with weighing-type precipitation sensors. Microwave remote sensing has only a low ability to retrieve solid precipitation. In addition, there are no long-term, high-quality precipitation data in China that can be used to drive land surface models. To address these issues, in the China Meteorological Administration(CMA) Land Data Assimilation System(CLDAS), we blended the Climate Prediction Center(CPC) morphing technique(CMORPH) and Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications version 2(MERRA2) precipitation datasets with observed temperature and precipitation data on various temporal scales using multigrid variational analysis and temporal downscaling to produce a multi-source precipitation fusion dataset for China(CLDAS-Prcp). This dataset covers all of China at a resolution of 6.25 km at hourly intervals from 1998 to 2018. We performed dependent and independent evaluations of the CLDAS-Prcp dataset from the perspectives of seasonal total precipitation and land surface model simulation. Our results show that the CLDAS-Prcp dataset represents reasonably the spatial distribution of precipitation in China. The dependent evaluation indicates that the CLDAS-Prcp performs better than the MERRA2 precipitation, CMORPH precipitation, Global Land Data Assimilation System version 2(GLDAS-V2.1) precipitation,and CLDAS-V2.0 winter precipitation, as compared to the meteorological observational precipitation. The independent evaluation indicates that the CLDAS-Prcp dataset performs better than the Global Precipitation Measurement(GPM) precipitation dataset and is similar to the CLDAS-V2.0 summer precipitation dataset based on the hydrological observational precipitation. The simulated soil moisture content driven by CLDAS-Prcp is slightly better than that driven by the CLDAS-V2.0 precipitation, whereas the snow depth simulation driven by CLDAS-Prcp is much better than that driven by the CLDAS-V2.0 precipitation. This is because the CLDAS-Prcp data have included solid precipitation. Overall, the CLDAS-Prcp dataset can meet the needs of land surface and hydrological modeling studies.

Evaluation of CLDAS and GPM Precipitation Products over the Tibetan Plateau in Summer 2005–2021 Based on Hourly Rain Gauge Observations

Accurate,reliable,and high spatiotemporal resolution precipitation products are essential for precipitation research,hydrological simulation,disaster warning,and many other applications over the Tibetan Plateau(TP).The Global Precipitation Measurement(GPM) data are widely recognized as the most reliable satellite precipitation product for the TP.The China Meteorological Administration(CMA) Land Data Assimilation System(CLDAS) precipitation fusion dataset(CLDAS-Prcp),hereafter referred to as CLDAS,is a high-resolution,self-developed precipitation product in China with regional characteristics.Focusing on the TP,this study provides a long-term evaluation of CLDAS and GPM from various aspects,including characteristics on different timescales,diurnal variation,and elevation impacts,based on hourly rain gauge data in summer from 2005 to 2021.The results show that CLDAS and GPM are highly effective alternatives to the rain gauge records over the TP.They both perform well for precipitation amount and frequency on multiple timescales.CLDAS tends to overestimate precipitation amount and underestimate precipitation frequency over the TP.However,GPM tends to overestimate both precipitation amount and frequency.The difference between them mainly lies in the trace precipitation.CLDAS and GPM effectively capture rainfall events,but their performance decreases significantly as intensity increases.They both show better accuracy in diurnal variation of precipitation amount than frequency,and their performance tends to be superior during nighttime compared to the daytime.Nevertheless,there are some differences of the two against rain gauge observations in diurnal variation,especially in the phase of the diurnal variation.The performance of CLDAS and GPM varies at different elevations.They both have the best performance over 3000–3500 m.The elevation dependence of CLDAS is relatively minor,while GPM shows a stronger elevation dependence in terms of precipitation amount.GPM tends to overestimate the precipitation amount at lower elevations and underestimate it at higher elevations.CLDAS and GPM exhibit unique strengths and weaknesses;hence,the choice should be made according to the specific situation of application.