Commission 7 and the Bathurst Declaration - The Joint Initiative with
FAO on the Multi-lingual Thesaurus
by Dr. Paul Munro-Faure
Key words: International Federation of Surveyors, United
Nations, Co-operation, Multilingual thesaurus.
Abstract
One of the most significant developments in the recent
history of the FIG has been its promotion of and support for the work of the
United Nations in the global surveying community. The Bathurst Declaration and
subsequent Round Table discussions between FIG and five United Nations’ and
various bilateral agencies in Melbourne in October 1999 are the most recent
high-level evidence of this intention.
The Declaration and Round Table have identified in particular
a set of areas which the Commissions, including Commission 7, are well placed to
provide input into. Commission 7’s workplan, agreed in 1998 in Brighton,
already picks up on several of these key areas.
This paper reviews the Commission’s contribution to date in
the fields of its three main Working Groups into the cadastre (chaired by Jürg
Kaufmann of Switzerland), man-land relations (Paul van der Molen, the
Netherlands), and land markets (Andras Ossko, Hungary). The paper also points to
new initiatives within the Commission, and in particular the co-operation with
the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation in preparing the English
version of the Multi-lingual Dictionary on Land related issues.
Dr Paul Munro-Faure
Chair, FIG Commission 7
Highcliffe
20 Butt Street
Minchinhampton
Stroud
Glos GL6 9JS
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: + 44 1452 720 342
Fax: + 44 1452 722 933
Email: paulmunro_faure@compuserve.com
Commission 7 and the Bathurst Declaration - The Joint Initiative with
FAO on the Multi-lingual Thesaurus
Commission 7’s work
Commission 7 is focussing its efforts in three main areas for
the period 1998-2002.
These are as follows:
1. Working Group 7.1, Reforming the Cadastre (chaired by
Jürg Kaufmann – Switzerland; deputy Tommy Österberg – Sweden; secretary
– Daniel Steudler - Switzerland)
Task Force 7.1.1, Definition of Commission 7 ISO
Standards (Winfried Hawerk)
2. Working Group 7.2, Land Ownership in the 21st Century:
Access to Land (chaired by Paul van der Molen)
Task Force 7.2.1, Women’s Access to Land (Agneta
Ericsson - Sweden, Sue Nichols – Canada)
3. Working Group 7.3, Land Markets (chaired by Andras
Ossko – Hungary; secretary Peter Dent – UK)
The particular feature of the Annual Meeting that has become
the Commission’s trademark, the one day international symposium, focussed in
1999 at the Bay of Islands on the work of Agneta Ericsson’s Task Force on
Women’s Access to Land. Agneta, our Swedish delegate, with Sue Nichols from
Canada in particular generated a great deal of light on the subject. The
material was considered of such quality by the New Zealand Institute that it has
been formally published in the Institute’s Survey Quarterly, a notable
first for those involved and a real achievement. The collected and edited papers
are being published with support for the Dutch Kadastre through the Commission’s
vice chair, Paul van der Molen.
By the time this paper is read, the second annual meeting
will have taken place in Hamburg, Germany. This one day international symposium
is on the very topical subject of Land Markets and is organised and chaired by
Andras Ossko from Hungary.
A strong contingent of Commission 7 delegates took an active
part in the Bathurst Workshop on "Land Tenure and Cadastral Infrastructures
for Sustainable Development". The Workshop included representatives from 25
different countries and five United Nations related agencies: the Department of
Economic and Social Affairs, Habitat (Centre for Human Settlements), Division
for Sustainable Development, Food and Agriculture Organisation, Economic
Commission for Africa, and World Bank. The Bathurst Workshop was followed by an
International Conference in Melbourne and Round Table discussions on future
co-operation between FIG’s Commissions and the UN and other agencies
represented. The outcome of the Workshop, The Bathurst Declaration, has been
widely reported internationally, and is the subject of a separate paper by
Professor Williamson during the Prague Working Week.
The directions of the Declaration have already had a great
deal of influence on the work of Commission 7 and will help to focus our
thinking for some years to come.
Initiatives with
UNFAO – the multilingual thesaurus
The first major initiative between the Commission and a UN
agency since the Bathurst Declaration and the Round Table discussions on future
co-operation is the preparation of the English language version of a
multilingual thesaurus on land related terms. The history of this initiative
originally dates from a bulletin on terminology that was prepared in 1979 for
the Global Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (1). The bulletin
consisted of an alphabetical list of seven hundred terms followed by their
translations into each of the five principal FAO languages.
An original French publication recently prepared for FAO
forms the basis for the FAO/FIG English and forthcoming Spanish versions. The
English thesaurus will therefore be the second version to be published. It
preserves the original French version’s structure and includes a significant
number of equivalent terms that are used in common. It is envisaged when the
third version, in Spanish, is completed, that the integration of the three
versions will provide a very useful resource. The text is not a conventional
thesaurus, with synonyms and antonyms, but it will allow cross-referencing of
similar concepts and ideas to help readers to understand better the similarities
and the differences between the approaches in these three important linguistic
and legal traditions.
The definitions identified also cross-refer to other UN
organisation prepared terminologies, and to FIG publications in this field,
particularly the Multi-Lingual Dictionary and to various others that have
provided definitions.
The thesaurus is designed to help people from a wide range of
backgrounds understand land-related terminology and to provide an appropriate
tool for as wide a range of the interested public as possible. It goes beyond
the simple definitions of the original bulletin. Where appropriate, each entry
includes also a presentation of key background information to ensure that the
reader has as clear an understanding as possible. In some cases specific terms
have different meanings according to circumstances. These are pointed out as
appropriate. Illustrative examples are provided where it helps to clarify the
sense and use of the term.
In a rapidly developing field of activity, new trends of
thought supplement and change existing concepts and ideas that have been central
to land issues. The thesaurus therefore includes relevant concepts and ideas,
both long established and recent, and provides the reader with recommended
references and bibliographies to enable quick access to the most relevant
published works.
The work aims to achieve two main objectives.
Firstly, it aims to contribute to greater rigour in the
analysis and the application of land related issues by the more disciplined use
of key concepts and notions. Secondly, it seeks to help standardise the use of
land related terms in the English speaking regions (and in the other linguistic
regions covered by the multilingual thesaurus).
The thesaurus also clarifies multiple meanings of terms and
expressions and provides context for their different uses, thus helping to
inform and preserve cultural diversity.
The thesaurus is not an exhaustive document. Land related
matters touch on many areas of study including particularly law, geography,
agronomy, sociology, economics and marketing. These linkages are difficult to
specify because boundaries between these areas are vague. The geographical area
of reference of the thesaurus is global since the examples provided covers all
of the continents. The English version, however, has a preference for countries
with an English language and English Common Law background.
The thesaurus should not be considered a completed work.
These initial preparations are therefore conceived as the start of an ongoing
process, and this will be particularly encouraged by designing the text for use
on the world wide web, complete with links into relevant sites that illustrate
particular terms. An FAO website will be a dedicated gateway to the thesaurus
and will include a mailbox facility that will allow everyone to forward their
own comments, criticisms and suggestions for consideration for inclusion.
The thesaurus will also be published both in traditional
format and CD-Rom.
The development of the thesaurus
The preparation of the English version of the thesaurus
started with the selection of the key terms and expressions that form the core
of the work. This process initially involved the analysis and review of
appropriate terms from the original French version. The resulting list was then
supplemented by terms and expressions appropriate to those countries with a
common background in English Common Law. As with the French version, the
preparation has involved wide consultation with the different services of FAO
concerned with land related problems. It has also involved a broad external
consultation involving a large number of specialists with collective experience
from all parts of the world.
The structure of the English version of the thesaurus follows
that of the French by dividing the entries into chapters. Each chapter, except
the first, which is general and looks at the key players, the resources and the
legal rights in land, groups together the ideas and concepts that belong to a
particular "field" of land issues. Chapter II deals with issues of
space, chapter III with policies, procedures and tools, chapter IV with
information systems, chapter V with taxation and economics aspects, chapter VI
with non-state regulation, and chapter VII with aspects of land that apply
specifically to agricultural, pastoral and forestry activities.
This is designed to allow easy access to the definitions and
explanations of the terms and expressions, some of which the reader may not know
in advance, or may be unfamiliar with. The operational advantage of this
classificatory system is accompanied by a degree of arbitrariness in the
location of terms in the paper based edition of this thesaurus, although
cross-referencing between "fields" is used to help reduce this
problem. The digital and internet-based versions of the thesaurus are designed
around a database that minimises this problem.
The definitions of the terms and expressions have been
referenced where appropriate to the literature with the assistance of experts in
the different areas. The literature referred to ranges from the very general,
including general and specialist dictionaries, reference works and manuals, to
the specific, including case studies and theses. This English version of the
thesaurus provides a flavour of the breadth of experience in those countries
that have a background of English language and English Common Law traditions,
including those in Europe, in the Americas, in Africa, in Asia and in
Australasia. It makes no claims, however, to providing a systematic analysis
covering all of these areas. It should, of course, be emphasised that the
structure and interactions of relevant legal frames, let alone the
practicalities of their implementation, are often very distinct from one
jurisdiction to another. Care should therefore be taken when using the thesaurus
to check on specific local usage and custom. Ultimately the versions of the
thesaurus written in various languages will touch on all of the regions of the
globe.
Critical review of drafts by appropriate specialists has allowed the
improvement of the work throughout the process of preparation. It is hoped that
subsequent versions of the thesaurus will enable its acknowledged initial
limitations to be progressively overcome.
Initiatives with UNFAO – women and
wealth
The second major area of co-operation between Commission 7 and FAO is in
making an assessment of women’s access to wealth. This arose from a statement
in the original Bathurst Declaration that "There is also a need to provide
women with equal access rights to land recognising women account for half the
world's total population but they own only 1% of the world's wealth."
This frequently quoted statement is understood to date from the 1980’s but,
so far as is known, has never been the subject of an objective assessment.
Although it is acknowledged as prima facie incorrect by most authorities, the
lack of any authoritative alternative has enabled this emotive and inaccurate
assessment, without proper foundation, to be widely quoted and to help formulate
attitudes and policies.
Following discussions with FAO about the desirability of correcting this
situation, Commission 7, through Professor Ian Williamson and a researcher at
the University of Melbourne, have started work on generating a true picture of
the situation.
Conclusion
Commission 7’s commitment to supporting the development of
FIG’s relationships with UN organisations and their work, is broadly evidenced
by its current workplan and priorities. These all focus on very topical areas
from an international perspective.
The two projects currently under way, where specific support
is being provided, send the message that FIG and the Commissions have the
capacity to mobilise resources to implement successfully projects of mutual
interest.
(1) Terminology Bulletin No 35,
1979, Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, Department of General Affairs and
Information, FAO, Rome
Dr Paul Munro-Faure
Chair, FIG Commission 7
Email: paulmunro_faure@compuserve.com
24 April 2000
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