Speakers Bio & Abstract

Biography
Mr. Damascene MUNYANGAJU holds a Bachelor?s Degree in Law, with an outstanding experience in Land Policy, Land Law and Cadastral and land administration fields. Key programs involving Geospatial Data of which he has been fully contributing or involved, include: 1) Coordinating the Land Tenure Regularization Program in Rwanda (Northern Province) 2009-2016; 2) Training of Private and Public Sector actors on Rwanda Land Policy as a Panacea to Sustainable Development; 3) Guest Lecturer at Institute d?Enseignement Superieur de Ruhengeri (INES) one of Private Universities offering Land Administration and Survey courses in Rwanda, particulary on ?The Land Tenure Situation in Rwanda? and the ?Cadastral and land Administration System in Rwanda?. Currently, he is the Deputy Registrar of Land Titles at Rwanda Natural Resources Authority.Abstract
The Rwanda National Land Policy adopted in June 2004 followed by the Land Law passed in 2005, other land related Laws and Decrees were passed. The Land related Institutions including the Office of the Registrar of Land Titles and District Land Bureaus were established in 2007, to implement the very policy, which mainly, aimed at (1) offering security of land tenure for all in equitable manner; (2) Prevent and resolve land related disputes to improve social cohesion; and (3) to boost sustainable economic growth.

Using high resolution (0.25) orthophotos, since 2009, Rwanda embarked on a Systematic Land Tenure Regularization Program with the ultimate objective of registering and titling all land parcels situated on the Rwandan territory. The exercise was concluded nationwide in June 2013. Consequently, a digital platform/Data-base, named ?Land Administration Information System (LAIS)?, integrating both spatial and non-spatial components was developed in order to facilitate long term maintenance and update of the land information. Recent statistics indicate that Land titling and the legal status accorded to them have been seen as boosting confidence in relation to access to finance (social capital) supporting mortgage industry; improved social justice; improved and reliable land market; Vibrant agriculture transformation; improving land use and easily monitored; while spatial data collected for the purposes of land registration becomes also reliable in improving urban planning and infrastructure development; environmental protection and boundary corrections in general.