Presentation prepared by Dr. Janina Mera and Kevin Barthel of Land Alliance, Inc for the World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty in Washington, DC March 2015. Explains the research and testing done in Peru in which UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles- commonly known as Drones) are used to map rural land with direct community involvement.

1. Linking Land Policy, Geospatial Technology, and Community Participation
Dr. Janina Mera and Kevin Barthel – Land Alliance Washington, DC
UAV BASED PARTICIPATORY e-FORMALIZATION | 03/26/15
CONFIDENTIAL PRESENTATION: This document and its content may not be shared or distributed without the permission of the Land Alliance.

2. The Peruvian Context
• Between 1997 and 2006 the Peruvian government with funding assistance from the
Inter-American Development Bank developed and implemented a massive, systematic,
and integrated field-based rural parcel survey and land tenure data collection approach
that has been replicated throughout the world (el barrido catastral)
• By using these methods approximately 3,000,000 parcels of rural land were surveyed
(cadastered) using a mix of traditional survey methodology (total stations, tape and
compass), orthophoto interpretation with field verification and field based GPS survey
with post processing
• Approximately 2,100,000 of the parcels were legally formalized, titles issued and
registered in the land registry – a massive accomplishment
• What about the remaining 900,000 parcels?
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3. What happened to the remaining 900,000?
Decades later:
• Roughly 250,000 parcels are in litigation or other factors preclude titling
• Approximately 650,000 were left ‘in process’ (rezagados – ‘left-behind’)
Resulting in:
• The land holders of the rezagados have been unable to reap the benefits of secure title
to their land
• Previous field data has become out-dated
• Erosion of government credibility
The solution proposed by the Regional Governments (GORES) was to redo the entire field
based portion of the process
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4. Proposed Approach
Land Alliance, along with its partners, the Peruvian Geospatial technology and services firm Geo
Systems, and the Bolivian office of Thomson Reuters, is in the process of developing an
innovative model that upends the typical massive-scaled, supply driven dynamic.
UAV Based Participatory electronic-Formalization
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UAV Based
Participatory e-
Formalization
Technology
Community
Participation
Government
engagement

5. UAV Based Participatory e-Formalization Approach
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Previous UAV use for Cadaster Research
• While the use of UAVs for Cadastral purposes is relatively new, UAV based
Participatory e-Formalization builds upon the work done by
• Volkmann & Barnes, Volkmann, Barnes and Barthel
• Eisenbeis,
• Cunningham
• Manyoky
• Previous field research conducted in Ethiopia, Northern Ghana, Indonesia,
Switzerland and the Netherlands

6. UAV Based Participatory e-Formalization Approach
Fit for purpose best practices
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Massive Surveys:
• Requires a cadre of trained professionals
• Minimal Community Engagement
• Time intensive
• Requires time to acquire conventional air
photos and procurement of GPS equipment
• Supply Driven on a massive scale – data
generation process overwhelms the use of the
data for formalization purposes
UAV based approach:
• Requires fewer trained personnel
• Participatory from the start
• Short Timeframe
• Cost Effective
• Demand Driven and Responsive
• Collect data ‘where’ and ‘when’
needed does not overwhelm the
system with more data than can be
used

7. Cadaster in Peru
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• Verificador Catastral
• Accuracy Required down to ½ meter
Peruvian Requirements
Who is responsible?
In 2011 cadastral responsibility was decentralized from the Agricultural
Ministry/COFOPRI to the Regional Governments.

8. UAV BASED PARTICIPATORY e-FORMALIZATION
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9. Technology Track
Initial Tests in Ayacucho and La Libertad, Peru were conducted to complete a prototype geo-
referenced aerial survey and produce a precise orthophoto map using the Trimble Gatewing
UX5 unmanned aerial vehicle.
Location Choice was driven by:
• Concentration of rezagados,
• La Libertad is in the top four districts with the most need (208,808) and where the land
market has been especially dynamic since the original tilting effort
• Ayacucho falls into a second category of moderate need (42,910)
• Environmental and geographic conditions
• Regional Government Interest
• Community Interest
• Diverse Geographic conditions
Location Choice
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10. Technology Track
Geodetic Control: CORS operated by the National Geographic Institute of Peru (IGN)
Survey Control Viru, La Libertad: 8 Ground Control Points over an area of 39 hectares
Survey Control Ayacucho: 8 Ground Control Points over an area of 55.9 hectares
Initial Testing
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11. Technology Track
Independent Verification La Libertad
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12. Technology Track
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Independent Verification
Ayacucho

13. Technology Track
• Use more GCPs and GNSS checkpoints
• Place the GCPs in a more equally distributed pattern closer to the perimeter
• Include all metadata and field survey data and notes
• Camera on UX5 does not provide geographic coordinates for the individual images
• Ground control and photography in La Libertad will need to be redone to improve
accuracy and expand area coverage
Lessons Learned
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14. Community Track
• Inclusive Community
Sensitization/Learning
Sessions
• Community Outlines
parcels or parcel
corners on the ground
to be visible in the
aerial imagery
Inclusive Participation
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15. Community Track
• Outlined parcel boundaries are reviewed, corrected and digitized directly with the
community and overlaid on the orthophoto
• Parcel boundaries from the previous field survey done years prior are overlaid with the new
boundaries to determine discrepancies
Inclusive Participation
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16. Community Track
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• After flight, community reconvened to review imagery, verify information, make
changes, resolve disputes, and reach a consensus
• All of the information is captured digitally in real time and developed into a GIS
database containing data on each parcel
• Resolution of conflict working with a paralegals and using mediation techniques
• Formal minutes of the meeting are prepared and signed by community leaders
and government representatives
• An individual file (digital) for each parcel is prepared and submitted to the GORE.
Working Meeting

17. Highlights of Community Track
• Transparency
• Collaboration
• Goes beyond ‘consultation’ - community ‘owns’ the work
• Forum for Mitigating Disputes
• Government Involvement cements acceptance of data collected
• Transfer of technical knowledge and participatory best practices
Community and Government working together bolsters legitimacy, strengthens
responsiveness and encourages good land governance.
Government Community Interaction
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18. NEXT STEPS
• Coordinating with the regional government of Ayacucho to test and refine the entire approach
• Establishing contacts within the community in Quinua, Ayacucho
• Test the approach to ensure it is ready to roll out in a larger pilot program covering more
geographic zones of the country (costa, sierra, ceja de selva, selva)
• Begin colleting data to eventually determine cost per parcel in each region of Peru for
comparison with more traditional methods.
• Determine feasibility of approach in areas of mixed land cover, including the rainforest or
high jungle using VTOL UAV platform or UAVs with LiDAR scanners or other remote sensors
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19. TIMELINE
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• April 14th-15th Present proposed approach and initial test results to Peruvian Ministry
of Agriculture and Regional Governments
• April- July procure required funding to test the approach
• August-September test the full approach in Quinua, Ayacucho
• Beginning of 2016 roll out the approach – potentially as part of the Government’s
Third Phase of the Rural Land Titling and Registration Project (PTRT3)

20. APPLICATION
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IMMEDIATE- SUPORTING THE ON-GOING CADASTER AND TITLING WORK OF THE GORES,
ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF THE ‘REZAGADOS’
INTERMEDIATE – PROVIDE A FIT FOR PURPOSE SOLUTION FOR USE IN THE PTRT3
FUTURE- TESTING AND APPLICATION IN URBAN OR RURAL LOCATIONS FOR MUNICIPALITIES
TO UPDATE THE CADASTER

21. info@landallianceinc.org | @LandAllianceInc
UAV BASED PARTICIPATORY e-FORMALIZATION