Refining the survey model of the LADM ISO 19152–2: Land registration

Abstract

Cadastral surveying involves the delineation of property boundaries and the extent and documentation of easements and restrictions (imposed by private or public law), forming the foundation for Land Administration (LA). Survey models and processes constitute vital parts of Cadastres and Land Administration Systems (LASs). However, these models are often inadequately documented and lack standardization in practice. To address the global diversity and complexity of legal and administrative challenges in LA, standardization efforts have yielded the ISO 19152:2012 (ISO, 2012) Land Administration Domain Model (LADM), the Global Land Tool Network's (GLTN) Social Tenure Domain Model (STDM), and the OGC LandInfra/InfraGML standard. The current edition of the LADM focuses on standardised conceptual modelling of LA-related information, including a dedicated sub-package for Spatial and Surveying representation. As part of the ongoing LADM revision, a refined survey model is being developed to support a broad range of surveying and data acquisition approaches and levels of accuracy. Recognizing that surveying technology is not bound by national practices and regulations, this paper focuses specifically on the surveying aspect of LADM. It illustrates that the proposed refined survey model is applicable not only to conventional real property formation but also to participatory land rights recordation processes. The approach adopted in this research is technology-neutral, accommodating the ongoing evolution of surveying technology. It offers support for a broad range of surveying and data acquisition approaches, with varying levels of accuracy. As the demand for high-precision positioning has been persistent within the land mapping and surveying community, particularly since the initial adoption of GPS, aiming to achieve centimetre-level accuracies (initially confined to local services), the paper addresses the fundamental principles of the High Accuracy Service (HAS) concept within the proposed model. The main results presented in this paper are the conceptual model of the refined survey model of LADM Edition II (ISO19152–2), as well as an abstract, reference, cadastral surveying workflow following the principles of the proposed model.