22 April 2016: More than 300 geospatial experts and representatives of governments and other interested parties attending the 4th High-Level Forum on UN Global Geospatial Information Management adopted the ‘Addis Ababa Declaration,’ in which they committed themselves to “advocate for and increase political awareness and value of geospatial information in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 2063 African Union Agenda as a collective vision and roadmap to secure land and property rights for all.”

Addressing the overall theme of ‘Geospatial Information Management: Towards Good Land Governance for the 2030 Agenda,’ the High-Level Forum took place from 20-22 April in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and was co-organized by the Government of Ethiopia, the UN Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

In his opening address, Mulatu Teshome, President of Ethiopia, noted that “up to 75% of people-to-land relationships globally” are not formalized, which contributes to insecurity of tenure and unproductive use of land.

Emphasizing that good land governance through up-to-date and accurate information underpins a successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), many speakers encouraged countries to plan, coordinate and cooperate with other institutions, and share data and information openly. The Forum also called for improved collaboration among geospatial agencies, national statistics institutions and other stakeholders in order to strengthen indigenous African capabilities and initiatives in such areas as infrastructure development, geospatial applications, research, human capacity building, resource mobilization and institutional collaboration.

The 4th High-Level Forum concluded with the adoption of the ‘Addis Ababa Declaration on Geospatial Information Towards Good Land Governance for the 2030 Agenda.’ In the Declaration, delegates note that the SDG targets and indicators related to land at the global level will be critical in guiding countries’ efforts to monitor progress, and deliver on better land governance, secure tenure and land rights at the national and local levels. Delegates resolved, inter alia, to: support the development of “fit-for-purpose” land administration and geospatial information, particularly in developing countries; measure and report progress to document, record and recognize people-to-land relationships in all its forms globally; promote cooperation between and among all UN-GGIM regional committees in setting up global frameworks and common standards, and applying best practices in geospatial information management; and embrace open data and standards to collect, collate, share and distribute geospatial and land information needed to address the diversity and complexity of the land sector in order to improve and secure land and property rights for all.

Among specific follow up actions, delegates agreed to develop a set of “fundamental geospatial information elements for land governance” as a subset of the UN-GGIM fundamental data themes aligned with the SDG global indicator framework, taking into account the ISO 19152 Land Administration Domain Model and progress in multi-dimensional cadastre and city models. The meeting also called for improved institutional coordination between National Geospatial and Mapping Agencies and National Statistical Offices in the context of the 2030 Agenda, the SDG global indicator framework and the 2020 Round of Censuses.

Delegates endorsed the establishment of an academic network to serve as a strategic knowledge, research and training arm to assist the UN-GGIM activities and objectives. [ECA Press Release] [Addis Ababa Declaration] [4th High-Level Forum Website] [UN-GGIM Website]