Jamaica’s Cutting-Edge Land Management Innovations Showcased to Visiting Delegation

The National Land Agency (NLA) recently hosted members of a St. Vincent and the Grenadines delegation that visited to explore Jamaica’s advancements in digital transformation, particularly in the areas of land titling and geospatial technology.

The visit, from October 7 to 11, facilitated valuable insights into Jamaica’s systematic land registration process and the innovative methodologies being employed to enhance land management.

NLA Senior Director for Business Services and Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Christopher McPherson, explained that the system was developed to address a problem that spans Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.

He noted that in earlier years, in order to ascertain or determine property ownership, “someone would point and say that ‘from the mango tree down to that grave, to the road, that is your land”.

Mr. McPherson said while there is often no real dispute over ownership, this ambiguity makes it difficult for those individuals to get a title because it is difficult to find the root of title.

To rectify this issue, the NLA has proposed amendments to the Registration of Titles Act, which allows for adjudication on the ground.

Mr. McPherson said a notable highlight of the delegation’s tour was a demonstration of the extent of Jamaica’s utilisation of marine hydrological surveys, which impressed the visitors.

The NLA showcased cutting-edge hydrographical surveying equipment aboard a Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) vessel, demonstrating the techniques used to map harbours, identify sunken vessels and detect navigational hazards.

This technology is crucial for ensuring safe maritime operations and preventing potentially costly incidents, such as collisions with reefs.

The delegation also engaged with the NLA’s cadastral mapping techniques, which streamline land registration by surveying multiple parcels simultaneously.

“[In relation] to the systematic land registration programme, we don’t do one-off surveys for those properties. [Instead], we do a big map known as a cadastral map for a large area, [with] up to 99 parcels on one map. Now that’s a much different technique from doing one off boundary surveying; and while the rules are very similar in terms of the equipment that is used, the legislation and the regulations are a little different,” the Senior Director explained.

The discussions also extended to Jamaica’s ongoing e-titles project, which aims to fully digitise land registration processes.

This initiative will allow surveyors to submit cadastral plans electronically, enabling a rigorous plan-checking process that ensures precision and prevents dual registration of parcels.

Mr. McPherson said the knowledge and information shared with the delegation during the week-long visit proved “invaluable”, adding that the NLA anticipates a potential collaboration in hydrological surveys and digital submission processes with Jamaica’s Caribbean counterparts.

“One of the things that we learned is that sometimes you really need to reach out to your Caribbean partners and neighbours because, in the same way that St. Vincent and the Grenadines might need some technical assistance, we might need some assistance on something else that we might not be the expert in, and fostering that relationship is very important,” he told JIS News.