Human resources as crucial factor for implementation of spatial services – Cadastral, Construction and Agricultural parcels in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Naumce LAZAREVSKI, MSc
DD Geoinformatika, Skopje, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
, ; ++389-75-299-330
Igor KOSTOVSKI, MBA
Center for Institutional Development, Skopje, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
; , ++ 389 71 327 280
ABSTRACT
Evolving business and government appearance in public relations trough web based services are pulling all available IT aware human resources from the labour market. Emerging development of web enabled services and supporting IT systems has drayed out all available human resources from the labour market in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. This is especially stressed in case where data is spatially enabled and key element of the system is parcel.
Parcel as noun describes part of earth surface for purpose of ownership management. At the same time, parcel is part of Earth surface related to urban planning or agricultural management. Linking parcels (as spatial object) with attributes is opposite to IT people’s understandings. This makes a gap in creation and maintenance of spatially enabled IT systems.
This paper is analyzing current situation in development of spatially enabled systems related to land administration. More precisely, cadastral system as ownership register from one side and LPIS as register of agricultural land from other side are analyzed. Current technical implementation with focus on implemented services, knowledge and potential of people behind the system are analyzed and presented. An initial finding indicates shortage of peoples in support of services development and maintenance. In the same time, there is also a shortage of people for data collection, maintenance and analyzes as consumers to spatial web services.
In the second part, following the findings of the survey on technology, profiles of peoples required to fulfil missing links of system implementation will be presented. Next, required educational background and professional experiences will be analyzed. Skills required for better position on the labour market will be presented as outputs of this analyze.
Third part is presenting the findings of educational system and capacities of professionals emerging in the labour market after college graduation. Labour market shortages indicate that education system in the fields related to analysed problem is inert and cannot produce required skills.
As recommendation on the findings, paper is proposing subjects that should be covered in order students to gain skills required for the open positions on the labour market.
Introduction
Internet as media for e-Services is in full blossom in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Shift from analogue (paper based) doing business and everyday life to digital mean is seen in all areas. Requests of society as whole for fast and accurate data and services are forcing both public and private sector to enable new manner of providing access to them. Maybe all of these events are with delay of several years in the country and with lower trend than other and more developed countries, but upward development is unquestionable.
Besides standard browsing and mail exchange utilization of internet, e-Banking and e-Marketing are the push forward for all other e-Services. Businesses are more open and agile in introduction and implementation of this king of service, and there is presence of successful examples. Government from the other side is more rigid without maturity and human capacities to undertake development. Hopefully, all parts of central and local governments recently got big momentum in opening their services in electronically mean of delivery using expertise and experience from the private sector.
E-Services and spatially enabled services are introduced basically in inner working procedures of the government bodies. For the public they are mostly as read only access to data and information. There is no interconnection in digital mean between data and services of the institutions. Reasons for that are found mainly in poor data standardization, strongly defined competences and closure of the institutions. Also there is lack of legislation and big fear in management of organizations for losing power over own data. This creates framework of single initiatives and data islands. All of these shortcomings are pointing mostly to the human factor as source and their inability to understand and overcome problems.
This paper is analyzing several spatial objects and related human resources. It will try to provide solution of human capacities for technical part of registers, services and infrastructures. Their legal, institutional, organization and leadership aspect in implementation, Inspire and NSDI are left for some further researches.
Parcels
Parcel as noun describes part of earth surface for purpose of ownership management. At the same time, other meaning of parcel is related to part of Earth surface used in urban planning, agricultural management and other areas. It is most utilized spatial object, and in this paper will be subject of analyze trough spatial services.
Physical world around us is partitioned down to the basic entities according the needs of different registers. Regarding the function of the register, several different types of parcels are defined and recorded in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Analyze of these objects and some of their characteristics are following in order to identify types, capacities and expertise of peoples that works with them and required knowledge upgrade.
Cadastral parcel
Legal definition of Cadastral parcel is “… is fundamental cadastral unit which is part of the land defined by boundaries, completely in one cadastral municipality and belonging to designated holder of the property right” [Public gazette 40/2008]. As object, it is defined by boundaries (array of linear objects) and recorded on cadastral plans (on paper and in the last decade in digital/CAD form). Descriptive data about the parcel itself, owner and ownership is also recorded in relational database. Cadastral parcels register is established and driven by one institution (Agency for Real Estate Cadastre - AREC), both for graphical and alphanumerical part.
Current situation in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia reveals that schema for cadastral parcel is in great manner in correlation with Annex I of Inspire directive and Inspire Data Specifications Guidelines V3.0 [Lazarevski, 2009]. Records should be upgraded with the national code, and versioning should be improved. Unfortunately, not all graphical records for cadastral parcels are in digital form as required by Inspire. There is ongoing process and huge effort to overcome this and accomplish full vector coverage. In the same time, cadastral system is identified as provider for Annex III buildings theme because they are also recorded by this register.
There are constant activities in improving the public access to the cadastral parcels records. First service published in digital mean to the public is access to alphanumerical data describing the parcels and owners. This service later is upgraded with other data required for the business community, and there is constant upgrading and promoting new services. Latest web based product is public viewer for graphical part of cadastral system and other spatial data.
Construction Land Parcel
Construction land parcel (CLP) is used in the Spatial and Urban planning process. It is defined as “… is part of Construction land determined by urban planning maps and/or urban planning projects according the Law on Urban Planning. Construction parcel may consist of one or more cadastral parcels or part of cadastral parcels determined by urban planning maps and/or urban planning projects”. From this, it is clear that CLP exist only in urban areas, and there is direct connection with cadastral parcels.
There is dispersed competence in spatial and urban planning. Spatial planning is under central government (Ministry for transport and communication) and gives the guide lines for development of country, regions and towns. There are several spatial plans, produced digitally (using CAD software), but utilized as printouts in analogue format. Urban planning is responsibility of local governments. There are diverse situations among different municipalities, from perspective of coverage, media (analogue or digital), quality and services provided to the public.
Process of urban planning is executed by private companies in cooperation with municipalities. They are using digital technology with some examples of sophisticated analyzing methodologies. Standardization of data amongst private companies should be improved.
Unfortunately, in most of local administration, utilization of urban maps is still on low level working on analogue (paper) maps. There are few exceptions that have implemented more sophisticated software and methodologies in their work. Also, some public viewers are developed and presented to the citizens.
Construction Land Parcel is utilized in planning purposes. In some extent can be connected to INSPIRE directive Annex III Land Use theme, giving source for some sections (classes). This spatial object is basis for new record in cadastral system. This record is created after finishing the construction of the building.
Agriculture parcel
Area in the rural zones that is used for food production is covered with agriculture parcels. Agricultural parcel are recorded in Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) and defined as “Reference parcel is part of the agricultural land with determined area which is basis for calculation of financial aid according the law. The reference parcel is an area, managed only by one farmer with only one land use”. LPIS is newly established register within the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy. There is unit responsible for running the system in organizational and technical manner. Agricultural parcel is object used for calculation of financial aid for the farmers. This creates organizational link with other institution responsible for financial aids.
Agriculture parcels as records in LPIS are compiled using ortophoto as background. Ortophoto is ordered and managed by MAWFE which identifies this institution as data provider for INSPIRE Annex II ortoimagery theme. In the same time, recording area as agriculture parcel creates source for both Annex II Land Cover and Annex III Land User themes. This register is one of required as data provider for LC/LU themes.
LPIS use sophisticated software over central database, central application server and distributed clients with GIS functionalities. The system itself works in closed and protected network environment, with public data viewer giving basic functionalities and data to the citizens.
Link between the parcels
Link between those three types of parcels as spatial objects exist on two levels. First of them is link in the real world, where same area is named as cadastral parcel, construction land parcel, agricultural parcel or some other type of spatial object. Every square meter of the Earth’s surface exists in one or more registers. The second, technical link between the parcels exists on level of connecting records of different registers.
Each register have own primary key for the main objects for which it is created. Cadastral parcel number is primary key in Land register and also an attribute for Construction parcel and Agricultural parcel. Both CLP and LPIS parcel requires Cadastral parcel to identify the ownership over the registered area. This creates foreign key or link from CLP/LPIS registers towards land register. In conceptual view of the link between the systems, LPIS have read only access to cadastre. Construction parcel have read/write link, because requires data from Land register and also defines new records waiting to be written in it.
Registers have different scale, responsible authority and maintenance period. Moreover, there are different legal documents defining the registers, but no common data policy for management of the registers and spatial data. This was not so important in previous data exchange mechanisms, but is crucial in creation of online link and data exchange services. Standardization and harmonization of data in order to create data sharing network services is very important. Executing that task is feasible only with understanding the underlying data and functions of the register.
Human capacities working with parcels as spatial objects
Each organization performs functions over the registers for which is responsible in efficient and sustainable manner. To accomplish this, several types of capacities are required. This includes adequate premises, fleet, trough hardware and software, and most important human capacities capable to perform the functions of the system.
Land Register (Cadastre)
Agency for real estate cadastre is oldest organization dealing with spatial data and trough the time have gained all required organizational capacities and network of regional offices to keep the Land register in up to date state. Until 2005, all surveying tasks related to geodetic networks, special geodetic works, cadastral measurements and some engineering tasks were undertaken by this organization. That’s why most of the geodetic technicians and engineers were employed in AREC. With “Law on Real Estate cadastre” from 2005, most of the surveying tasks are shifted to the private sector, which creates new possibilities for the private sector.
Nowadays, cadastral parcel is measured by private surveyors and geodetic elaborate is prepared. Based on the elaborate, record for cadastral parcel in the Land Register is created or updated by AREC staff. This creates two distinct profiles of surveyors:
- Measurement, processing and data compilation, executed in the private surveying companies. Measurements are executed with latest and most sophisticated equipment. Unfortunately, almost all of the surveyors in the private practice have formal education with lectures covering older techniques and equipment. This creates gap between knowledge and practice. Knowledge about the latest technologies is covered on additional training courses and self learning principle. In some cases this is not sufficient, and a possibility for errors and not adequate utilization of the equipment still exists. Analyzing the applied software, most of the surveyors utilize modern software for calculation and drawing, but additional training in automation is still required.
- Data control and register maintenance (especially graphical part). Most of the graphical cadastral data are still on paper. Data processing techniques used for paper based maps are at least 40 years old, proven and besides their disadvantages well known among AREC employees. All of the employees have precise and detailed knowledge and understanding of their work with paper maps. For maintenance and dissemination of digital cadastral data, detailed technical manual is prepared. Also extensive trainings are performed within the organization. But, digital environment is not well accepted and utilized by the older surveyors. Also, utilization of CAD software as working environment is identified as source for shortcomings in data processing.