White Paper - Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica

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White Paper on The Development of a Land Tenure Legislative and Regulatory Framework Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica 2.3.3.2 The adoption of the Unified Land Information System (ULIS) being implemented through the LTARP will, providing it is accessible to all three GoCD departments (which this report considers vital), greatly enhance the ability of Registry, Physical Planning and Lands and Surveys to provide a coordinated and systematic approach to creation of new subdivisions, change of use and Registration of Title. 2.3.3.3 Currently, Physical Planning considers that the majority of individual subdivisions are not put forward to Physical Planning for consent (as confirmed by this project). 2.3.3.4 The Planning and Development Control Authority Board operate a Technical Committee which meets twice per month to consider residential subdivisions and development. However, although Physical Planning have a GIS capability and probably the most comprehensive GIS data set with regard to land use and land capability, there is a lack of system resource, procedure and technical capacity to utilise this GIS data set within Land and Surveys, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry Dept, etc to assist in both considering individual subdivision applications and generating a wider land use policy – and subsequently a land use plan. Indeed individual land parcel subdivisions do not necessarily get presented to Land and Surveys (as required under the Land Survey Act which requires all surveys to be approved by the Chief Surveyor) or to Physical Planning (not required currently under the Planning Act). 2.3.3.5 There is a chronic requirement for new digital orthophoto imagery and base mapping to update the existing 1984 DOS hard copy map stock which is now approaching 30 years out of date (see recommendations within the Title By Registration Act and Land Survey Act report by this Consultant team of May 2009) and to provide a starting point platform for a National Geographical Information System to :- i) View, verify and approve land parcel boundaries (many of which will be disputed due to the practice of “hatching off”) within ULIS and build a Land Cadastre of Registered Title to support the objective to insist on compulsory first registration on all transfers, or subdivisions of land. ii) Illustrate and manage a Land use policy and subsequently a land use plan together with relevant development plans (as exist currently); iii) Provide the means accurately and transparently to portray to the public and all relevant parties the status of individual land parcels with regard to such a land use plan (on line access to geo-referenced land parcels and land use plans is both deliverable and relatively inexpensive compared with the position just 10 years ago); Page 16 of 55 Consultant - Brown & Co & Roythornes Solicitors
White Paper on The Development of a Land Tenure Legislative and Regulatory Framework Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica iv) Provide the ability for all relevant departments to engage fully in their relevant function to approve subdivisions, grant or refuse consent for change of use on individual applications; verify relevant approvals prior to title registration, subdivision, or transfer of title. v) Make use of existing GIS data sets within both Lands and Surveys and Physical Planning to manage State land (and former State land that has been sold but not paid for) and to use as a tool to both plan, implement and measure land use policy implementation across the relevant agencies which should include the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. These agencies existing GIS resources (macro and micro land use data sets / controls) are currently either non-existent, or uncoordinated and poorly managed (incorrect projections, varying degrees of metadata integrity, etc). This has resulted from sporadic GIS data collection efforts over the years (as opposed to any criticism of staff members – all of whom are restricted through limited resources, lack of cross-departmental coordinated effort and no digital base mapping) and would benefit greatly from a common, coordinated National GIS with new base mapping and relevant training, controls and integration into a land use policy framework. This is likely to be a key deliverable if the LTARP is to arrive at coherent reforms which deliver beneficial change across both public and private sector land ownership interests in Dominica and a key tool in the engagement of all agencies involved in the implementation of land use policy and land management – from Agriculture, Forestry, Eco-Tourism. 2.3.4 Reasons For Owning Land 2.3.4.1 Land in an island such as Dominica is by its nature in limited supply. Moreover, in an island like Dominica where agriculture is a primary use (for which land is a primary requirement), it has been and remains of deep social, political and economic importance to its population. There are many reasons for people wishing to own land, which may be generally summarised as follows :- i) As a place to live. ii) In order to farm either at a subsistence level, or to make a commercial farming profit. iii) To develop for residential, commercial, touristic or for other reasons, with a view to either personally making a living in those activities, or to make a profit by selling it on to others to do the same; iv) As an individual reserve with a view to doing any of the above activities at some point in time. Effectively this often amounts to Page 17 of 55 Consultant - Brown & Co & Roythornes Solicitors
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White Paper - Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica

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