Kadaster and the Embassy of the Netherlands signed a memorandum of understanding with IGAC

The Director General of the Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi, - IGAC, Gustavo Adolfo Marulanda, the Ambassador of the Netherlands in Colombia, Ernst Noorman, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Agency for Cadastre, Land Registration and Mapping of the Netherlands (Kadaster), Frank Tierolff, signed a memorandum of understanding that seeks to promote different bilateral cooperation initiatives oriented to the multipurpose cadastre policy.

This cooperation instrument aims to promote innovative, participatory and efficient methodologies that contribute to cadastral processes for land administration, encourage the participation of local actors such as young people, ethnic and rural communities in the development of cadastral processes, and implement joint research, development and innovation projects.

The Director General of the IGAC, Gustavo Marulanda, emphasized the importance of the development of the different cadastral processes, as these become key elements for the improvement of land formalization and its respective redistribution. With respect to the development of the multipurpose cadastre policy, Marulanda stated that "we must guarantee that the cadastral information gathering process is carried out and ensure that the model implemented is sustainable over time. We will achieve this by empowering the communities in the management and importance of cadastral information and, in particular, in the importance of keeping it updated".

In turn, Ambassador Noorman referred to the cooperation between the government of the Netherlands and Colombia: "our interest is to support the different purposes of IGAC and Kadaster contributing to the advancement of the cadastral update of the country, a key step for lasting peace". He also emphasized his government's willingness to support Colombian institutions in the development of simpler land administration processes.

Similarly, Kadaster's president, Frank Tierolff, assured that cooperation between the two countries has taken on a new air with the support of the government of the Netherlands for the fulfillment of the first chapter of the Colombian Peace Agreement signed in 2016. "We have proposed faster and cheaper methods of rural land administration that involve the direct participation of farmers through their local organizations, communal action boards or indigenous associations."

This memorandum of understanding adds to the international cooperation efforts with which the IGAC seeks to continue promoting actions for the fulfillment of goals in multipurpose cadastre and the support of the government of the Netherlands in land administration issues.

Alexánder Zambrano Salazar