Gulnara Roll, Committee’s Secretary, and Head of Housing and Land Management Unit The World Bank Land and Poverty Conference, 24 March 2014 Importance of the regional and interregional cooperation: Europe and Central Asia perspective

UNECE UNECE region 56 member States - from North America to Western and Eastern and Southern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia Pan-European economic integration and cooperation Policy advice, set-out norms and standards, exchange of experience

UNECE UNECE region is home to 20 per cent of the world population. It includes some of the world’s richest countries as well as countries with a relatively low level of development A diverse nature of the membership: countries with former socialist countries or countries with economies in transition and countries with advanced economies/market economies Very high level of urbanisation

UNECE Committee on Housing and Land Management and its Working Party on Land Administration A platform for intergovernmental dialogue A forum for the exchange of information and experience Assistance with policy formulation and implementation: o In depth assessments o Policy guidance and recommendations o Advisory services and capacity-building activities

Structure of UNECE Committee on Housing and Land Management

Working Party on Land Administration A neutral platform to exchange experiences and best practices in land registration systems, land consolidation and informal settlements management Coordinates activities with other international organizations Monitoring of implementation of the policies through studies

Areas of Work Sustainable housing and real estate markets Sustainable urban development Land administration and management Country profiles on housing and land management

Why is addressing land governance important in your region and what are the main benefits countries will derive from doing so 1. Optimisation of land use in one of the most populated areas of the world Challenges Pressure on land is high. How to optimize land-use, based on what criteria Benefits Clear process of prioritizing use of land and transparency for politicians for decision-making 2. Support to economic development, including developments for housing Challenges To avoid speculation when to convert land use from agriculture into urban land use Benefits Forcing adequate land management in early stage 3. Urban reallotment Challenges Improve efficient use of empty spaces in urban areas Benefits Based on cadastral information design improvements and reviving city centres by “densifying” the build environment

2. Is there agreement among key stakeholders on this importance of land issues and need for change? What is the associated political economy (i.e. who would gain or lose from decisive action in this area)?

3. What are some quick wins/low-hanging fruit where action could yield immediate benefits and that could therefore be used to get things moving; What are the areas where your region could most immediately benefit from other region's experience? Quick Wins: 1. Further institutional and legal development 2. Creating online portal to disclose physical and zoning plans 3. Creating online portals for land related information both textual and graphical Lessons: Integrate information related the environmental protection, climate change

4. What are experience and practices for improving land governance in your region that will be useful to other regions? Experiences: 1. Legal and institutional reforms 2. Collaboration between ministries 3. Attempts to establish shared services for spatial information Practices: 1. Preparing zoning plans at micro/city center level 2. Opening up online all relevant information to public

5. What are key indicators that countries in your region could use to measure progress in improving land governance and demonstrate they are on the right track? Indicator 1. Zoning plans at different levels available Shows maturity of society Describe Check coverage of zoning plans Describe Indicator 2. NSDI in place Providing spatial information infrastructure to support land governance Describe How many datasets are availble, acessible in standard format Describe Indicators. Please see UNECE benchmarking survey and other studies

Implemented activities - Ministerial Meeting on Housing and Land Management The Ministerial Meeting on Housing and Land in October 2013 Ministers, heads of department and other high-level representatives from 47 of the 56 UNECE member States adopted the regional Strategy for Sustainable Housing and Land Management for 2014 to The Strategy will be implemented through the Committee’s Programme of Work, which was also adopted during the session.

Strategy for Sustainable Housing and Land Management for 2014 to 2020 Through its 15 objectives and 36 targets, the Strategy addresses the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainability in housing and land management. Member States committed themselves, among others, to  improve the overall access of all to adequate, affordable, good- quality, healthy and secure housing and utility services, with particular attention to young people and vulnerable groups  develop policies and legislation to reduce energy use in the housing sector  introduce more effective management of multi-family housing estates, and to improve the condition of the housing stock. 3 14

Ministerial Meeting on Housing and Land Management and Committee’s 74th session The 74 th Committee session discussed the possible development of a charter on sustainable housing in the ECE region. Noting the interest of some member States in a charter on sustainable housing, the Committee agreed to request that the Bureau provide further information and, if appropriate, in the light of decisions made by EXCOM, to develop elements of the proposed charter. 15

Increased damages to housing and human settlements from climate change and other natural and human-made disasters. Low political attention to housing and urban development Inability of local governments to manage urban growth, control urban development and enforce regulations Declining urban densities due to emigration, decrease of natural population growth and an ageing population Inefficient use of urban land as a result of low-density developments A report on the survey of member States “Key challenges in the UNECE region

Thank you for your attention! UNECE Housing and Land Management Unit Contact:

Key Activities: Sustainable urban development October workshop on post 2015 goals and on progress mini-CPs A regional study on the spatial planning and natural disaster risks (PEP, ISDR) Development of a policy brief on urban planning Mini-CPs report: design, drafting Smart cities project planning, fundraising May 2014 Geneva smart cities workshop preparation Vienna November 2014 smart cities workshop preparation National Action Plans for Sustainable Housing in Armenia (UNDA)

National reports on housing and urban developmeny “Mini-CPs” Questionnaire nearly ready Will be issued to 2-3 pilot countries Will then be issued to all member States Will be published for 2015

Key Activities: Land administration and land management WPLA workshop in Denmark WPLA workshop in Vienna, October WPLA sessions at WB conference WPLA project proposal for funding Informal settlements study and complete and publish Organize a thematic discussion on informal settlements at Committee session WPLA paper on land administration organization WPLA institutional study and report WPLA Benchmarking report to publish and advertise Update CHLM and WPLA wiki

Studies Survey on Land Administration Systems Unification of Land Registries and Cadastres Best Practices for Informal Settlements Land administration reviews

Workshops “The socioeconomic potential of land administration services”, Copenhagen, May 2014 Topic to be determined, Vienna, Fall 2014 Topic to be determined, Azerbaijan, Fall 2015

Participation in meetings and events World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty, 24 to 27 March 2014, Washington, DC Geospatial World Forum, 8 and 9 May 2014 Cadastre automization in Uzbekistan, May 2014

Country profiles CP Kazakhstan: re-establish contact, fundraising (OECD: urban development), planning CP Georgia (land administration review): planning, fundraising CP Russia: re-establish contact (waiting for national focal point from MFA), fundraising

Key Activities: Sustainable urban development October workshop on post 2015 goals and on progress mini-CPs A regional study on the spatial planning and natural disaster risks (PEP, ISDR) Development of a policy brief on urban planning Mini-CPs report: design, drafting Smart cities project planning, fundraising May 2014 Geneva smart cities workshop preparation Vienna November 2014 smart cities workshop preparation National Action Plans for Sustainable Housing in Armenia (UNDA)