The meeting was attended by 21 participants, from Barbados, Belgium, Chile, Finland, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, UNECE-WPLA, Academic Network (The University of Melbourne), and Private Sector Network (ESRI and Hexagon).
The Co-Chairs made an opening remarks before the meeting agreed to the agenda, as follows:
- Welcome, agenda and organization of the meeting
- Work plan of the expert group (2023 – 2025) – Updates and progress
- Integration of Terrestrial, Maritime, Built and Cadastral Domains
- UN-GGIM-Americas Working Group on Land Administration
- International Federation of Surveyors Commission 7
- Summary of Fifth (in-person) meeting and International Seminar
- Fourteenth session of the UN-GGIM
- Other related matters, next meeting
- Close
b) The Co-Chair (Singapore) presented progress updates on five focus areas of the Work Plan. Updates included completed tasks and ongoing initiatives under each focus area. The ongoing projects are:
- Reporting to annual sessions of the Committee of Experts at UNHQ.
- Working Group 7.1 on FELA in FIG Commission 7 with Spain, Netherlands, Latin Americas (Led by Spain).
- EuroSDR on FELA Implementation (Led by the Netherlands).
- Crafting policy paper on integrating land and sea with MPA WG-MGI and under IHO-Singapore Lab.
- Understanding the contribution of near-shore permanent ground reference control points and the land-sea interface (Singapore).
- Understanding the contribution of a framework to monitor vertical land motion (Singapore).
- Collaborate with UN-GGCE on integrating FELA in Geodesy domain.
- Anchoring FELA in the works with OGC and IHO.
Detailed discussions on integrating land and sea data, ongoing policy developments, and collaboration efforts with UN-GGCE (United Nations Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence) were highlighted. Co-Chairs announced about Focus Group discussion on Land-Sea Integration, scheduled for 2 July 2024, involving Australia, Fiji, Tonga, SPC and UN-GGCE, with plans for further discussions in other geographical regions.
The Co-Chair (Chile) shared progress on promoting FELA implementation in the Americas, discussing challenges like language barriers and the need for unified efforts across regional cadastre groups.
Spain presented FIG Commission 7, WG 7.1 activities promoting and implementing the FELA globally, and current work with EG-LAM on a co-created publication on FELA awareness and implementation. Activities of FIG with EuroSDR also have been shared.
Sweden reported on the outcomes of the meeting of the Permanent Committee of Cadastre of the European Union held in Belgium. The discussion focused on collaboration with partners, such as the European land registration authorities, and included an agenda point about EG-LAM, aiming to raise awareness and encourage participation in related initiatives. The meeting involved discussions within the Permanent Committee of Cadastre with a focus on advancing land administration practices and fostering international cooperation in cadastre and related domains. The Co-Chair emphasized FIG as a crucial partner in land administration, highlighting technical collaboration and global stakeholder outreach.
c) The Co-Chairs thanked the Government of Mexico and INEGI, for their very warm reception and superb arrangements during the Fifth meeting of the Expert Group on Land Administration and Management in Aguascalientes, 8 – 11 April 2024. Key highlights and outcomes of the meeting included:
- Discussions over four days with 44 participants from 13 Member States and international organizations.
- Main topics included implementing effective land administration frameworks and integrating terrestrial, maritime, and cadastral domains.
- Emphasis on strategic pathways tailored to national circumstances and leveraging GeoAI for land information.
It was recommended to visit the UN-GGIM website for detailed information and the summary report of the meeting.
d) The Co-Chair highlighted the focus of the Forum on the Integration of Terrestrial, Maritime, Built and Cadastral domains at the Fourteenth session involving functional groups responsible for land administration, marine geospatial information, policy and legal frameworks together with IHO and UN-GGCE.
The Co-Chair invited EG members to make amendments and suggestions to the report of the Expert Group to the Fourteenth session by the close of business on Friday 28 June, to the Secretariat. The meeting agreed to entrust the Co-Chairs and the Secretariat to finalize the report for the Fourteenth Session by 3 July.
e) The Co-Chair discussed plans for future virtual and in-person meetings, including a potential virtual meeting in November. The University of Melbourne presented its proposal for a “Network of Excellence for Land Intelligence”, which aims to complement existing UN-GGIM efforts and enhance global collaboration on land-related intelligence and sustainability.
A representative from Hexagon announced the Geospatial Innovations Week, at the German Technical University in Cairo in December 2024. The event will feature presentations on geodetic reference systems, digital reality capture, with invitations extended to experts for keynote speeches and discussions.
f) Participants agreed on the next steps:
- Submit amendments and suggestions to the draft report of the Expert Group to the Fourteenth session by closure of business on Friday 28 June.
- Entrust the Co-Chair and Secretariat to finalize the report for the Fourteenth Session by 3 July.
- Prepare for the Fourteenth session of the Committee of Experts with a focus on integration:
- Continuing collaboration and preparation for the upcoming side event (forum) and session.
- Streamlining collaboration across different geographical regions and functional groups.
- Preparing for future events and encouraging active participation in upcoming initiatives and feedback processes.
- Support the proposed workshop related to the land-sea interface in December 2024 in Indonesia organized by UN-GGCE.
- Plan for future virtual (tentatively November) and in-person meetings, with details to be communicated closer to the dates.
16th Virtual Meeting