Land Administration Reform in Southeastern Europe

Land reform experts in ECSSD have been using video conferencing since 2003 to discuss various land administration issues, mainly focusing on operational issues of project design and implementation. As the number of land administration projects in the region has grown, it became more and more evident that the promotion of secure property rights is a fundamental aspect of a market economy and land administration systems (laws and institutions) are seen as part of the necessary infrastructure for securing property rights.

Recent developments, however, have created the need for extensive dialogue on wider policy issues of land market development and for sharing experiences and lessons learned throughout the sub-region. The new GDLN series on land administration promotes country-to-country dialogue and provides a forum to discuss efficient ways of property market development. Various policy issues being addressed included (i) human resource management in land administration agencies, (ii) monitoring and evaluation for improved service delivery, (iii) land rental markets in ECA: key constraints and policy choices, (iv) access to mortgage and finance, (v) service delivery and transparency, (vi) land use management and regulation, (vii) formalization of informal settlements, and (viii) property taxation.

Participating countries in this multi-series program include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro. The program is being managed by the CARNet GDLN affiliate located in Zagreb.