LRIMS Cadastre Module User Requirements and Functionality (Seychelles Case Study) John Latham, NRL

1. LRIMS Cadastre Module User Requirements and Functionality (Seychelles Case Study) John Latham, NRL Renato Cumani, NRL Luigi Simeone, NRL

2. Summary • Background • User Requirements • Business Model • Application Interface • Integration with Land Resources Information Management Systems (LRIMS)

3. Background Objective • The Cadastre Module for Seychelles aims at improving the efficiency of delivery of services for authorities dealing with cadastre operations, through providing interfaces that effectively deal with cadastre data integrated Goals • Ensuring consistency in cadastre processes through linking spatial and non-spatial data; • Enhancing processes related to displaying/finding/identifying parcels with specific characteristics; • Improving quality of cadastre-related geographical layers; • Facilitating maps/reports production for cadastre data; and • Generating a land utilization layer.

4. Implementation Plan

5. Methodology • Review Requirements, Needs and Capabilities • Stakeholder Meetings • Identify Application Needs • Identify Data Needs • Indentify Functionality • Design ( Data model, Application Interface) • Prototyping, Debugging and Testing • Deployment and User Acceptance • Documentation and Training

6. Review of existing cadastre records Definition • A record of position, form, area, utilization and owner of each individual parcel; • Many Applications; and • Additional Layers. Characteristics • Up-to-date; and • Own aspects and specifications due to different parcel management systems. Stakeholders • Register offices; • Land-use planning; • Land survey departments/authorities; and • GIS appointed entity. GIS and Cadastre • GIS offers cadastres the opportunity to link tabular and geographic data; • GIS technology enables the interested parties to manage parcel data in a manner not possible with hand-drawn or CAD-generated maps; • Speed, accuracy, saving space, eliminates confusion

7. Cadastre Stakeholders GIS Center (MND):responsible for coordinating the governmental activities related to GIS and providing technical support to other units in the government, as well as hosting Cadastre Module for Seychelles Survey Division (MND): responsible for carrying out the surveying projects, in addition to providing the GIS Center and the Land Registration Department with the parcels shapefiles/CAD Land Registration Department: responsible for keeping track record of ownership for each parcel Potential Users: - Department of Natural Resources (MENRT) - Department of Environment (MENRT) - National Bureau of Statistics - Risk and Impact Assessment Sector (DRDM) - Planning Department (MND) - GIS Unit, Department of Natural Resources - Land Management Division (MND) - Housing and Condominium Department (MND)

8. Stakeholders meeting The meetings held between the consultant and the stakeholders will aim at assessing the cadastre situation (and needs) in Seychelles, where each stakeholder is asked to explain his/her organization's stand-point concerning the following main points: • Existing GIS and/or CAD S/W (or expected on the short run) • Available experience in GIS S/W as well as in dealing with maps • The available H/W (or expected on the short run) • Discussion of the cadastre business-cycle from the organization's point of view (including the role of the organization) • Major problems/shortfalls/bottlenecks in the cadastre business-cycle from the organization's point of view • Suggested Improvements in the cadastre business-cycle • The available basemaps or cadastre-related maps, if any (layers/coverage/format) • Available information related to cadastre (Database/tables/reports) • Availability of sample information (related to cadastre) • Discussion on the technical proposal of the Cadastre Module for Seychelles

9. Preliminary findings • Data • There are some problems with existing data. The project coordinator will work with other stakeholders to tackle those problems. • Sample data, covering pilot are available to be used to develop the module. The delivered sample data has some errors (e.g. missing attributes/codes), which makes it indicative of the possible existing errors in the real data, hence adding benefit to the development of the Quality Assurance Interface. • It is important to offer the survey division help with the process of correcting and updating existing maps as they do not have the required human resources.

10. Findings on the proposed module • The module will be a standalone as it is not possible to use a multi-user architecture at the moment due to the absence of required network infrastructure. However, a multi-user architecture might be considered under the scope of another project later on. • The module will only require ArcGIS license to run • The proposed application interface is reviewed and generally accepted

11. Proposed module (continue) • In order to help with public participation and to support transparency, any GIS (including the proposed one), should have an online version that can be accessed by the general public, e.g. to query about specific information at any time • There is a need to develop a strategy on a National GIS (NGIS)

12. Current Cadastre Business Model Problems • The current status of cadastre cycle shows that the parcel layer is not linked to the land registration records (containing all related data). • The absence of the link between the parcel layer and the associated data leads to difficulties in the searching and reporting operations. • Manual checking of parcel layer results in difficulties/errors in identifying errors. • Inconsistencies between parcel layer and parcel ownership data are different to identify.

13. Proposed Cadastre Business Cycle Advantages • The geodatabase contains the verified cadastre maps and the ownership data. • A link between the SD parcels map and the LRD records will be established. • Search and query operations will be easily performed on the parcels maps and the associated land records and in an integrated way. • The quality assurance process is enforced in an automated way. • Flexibility in reports/maps production.

14. System Architecture ArcGIS customization over FLOSS is chosen due to: • Availability of ArcGIS licenses (no extra license fees needed) • Readily available capabilities/functionalities that will not be sacrificed (since the module will be built as an extension to ArcGIS) • Familiarity of the staff of GISC with ArcGIS usage • Scalability and flexibility will not be compromised in the ArcGIS environment, where future modifications/additions are viable. Moreover, moving from desktop to multi-user (or vise versa) is possible and easy (provided that the appropriate considerations were accounted-for in due time).

16. Systems Architecture • The desktop architecture will be adopted (the module will only require ArcView to run), this approach was recommended by all the stakeholders, as it is not possible to use a multi-user architecture at the moment due to the absence of required network infrastructure. • The multi-user architecture should not be disregarded. On the contrary, the Cadastre Module should be developed with the multi-user environment in mind. Appropriate considerations and measures in programming code and database design should be taken to ensure that future migration from desktop to multi-user architecture (should this happen) would only require migrating from personal to multi-user geodatabase along with minor interface changes (minimal effort).

17. Interfaces Graphical Report Attribute Report Map Report Spatial Search Attribute Search LUT Interface Quality Assurance Report Quality Assurance Interface

18. Thank you