Forum calls for good land governance in Africa

The 4th edition of the High Level Forum on United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management kicked off Wednesday in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

The three-day Forum has been organized to discuss ways of strengthening the use of geospatial information for good land governance and for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to a statement from UN Economic Commission for Africa.

In his opening remarks, President Mulatu Teshome of Ethiopia has called for the introduction of modern land management systems and good land governance towards realizing development goals set at regional and global levels.

"The 2030 Agenda (SDGs) cannot be achieved without the introduction of modern land management systems accompanied by good land governance," said the President.

"An Africa of good governance is what we want. A peaceful and secure Africa cannot be realized unless we ensure good land governance in our continent," said Teshome, adding, Africa needs to deliver accurate geospatial information if it is to achieve sustainable development.

Yinager Dessie, Ethiopian Commissioner of National Planning, said that if not managed properly, land can be a source of conflict.

Oliver Chinganya, the Director of the African Centre for Statistics at ECA, encouraged African countries to map their lands to increase the mapping rate from the current 2.4 per cent.

The importance of geospatial information is being recognized everywhere in Africa, said Chinganya, calling for member states to help steer the future development of geospatial information and its application. Endit