Land, property and construction are reckoned to account for around 20
per cent of the gross domestic product of many nations. The relationsh
ip between people and the land is complex and differs between nations
depending on their history, culture and legal system. Many countries,
especially those in transition from command to market-driven economies
, are re-engineering their cadastral and land registration systems in
order to provide cheaper, faster and more secure ways of transacting l
and. This paper focuses on the importance of land tenure arrangements
and the need to manage information about land and property in support
of land markets and sustainable development.