YOGYAKARTA- As many as 23 experts in land affairs from various countries from 19-22 July 2010 gathered on Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) campus. They are from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Philippines, Nepal, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Netherlands, UN-HABITAT (United Nations Human Settlements Programme), the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) and Indonesia.
According to the Head of Department of Geodesy UGM, Ir. Subaryono, MA, Ph.D., accompanied by chief of the local committee Dr.Trias Aditya, S.T., M.Sc., the Expert Group Meeting (EGM) in the land sector widely discussed the issue of land administration and transparency, particularly in Asia, Europe, and Africa.
"The land problems include the registration process, management and land development," said Subaryono on the sidelines of the event at UC UGM, Tuesday (20/7).
Subaryono explained that the crucial problem generally faced by many countries in the world today is the allotment of land that is not pro-poor. As a result, many cases of land disputes, land seizures to corruption of land administration are often found.
The many cases in land administration and land transparencycall for capacity building in Asia in order to reduce gradually the non-pro-poor policy. "We need to increase the capacity to organize the land policy," Subaryono added.
Dr. Trias also added that the EGM event will be followed by training for practitioners of land at the ASEAN level. This event also involved several universities in the world such as, Hanoi University of Science Vietnam, Kathmandu University, the University of Twente, UN-HABITAT, as well as the United Nations University, School of Land Administration Studies. "This meeting will be followed up with the training of practitioners," he said.
Previously, Ir Tony Atyanto Dharoko, MPhil, PhD, Vice Rector of Alumni and Business Development opening the EGM said that UGM welcomed this activity,especially considering that the problem of land is a crucial issue and involves multiple disciplines. "UGM appreciates and welcomes the event to increase the capacity of land administrators," Tony said.