In the Press

Read all the latest of Cadasta’s press features, mentions, quotes, and opinion pieces to learn more about our work, partners, and impact.

2024

Not waiting for the government, Myanmar’s Karen people register their own lands | Mongabay: Amidst decades-long armed conflict with Myanmar’s central government, the Indigenous Karen people have taken matters into their own hands by mapping and documenting their ancestral lands in a self-determination effort without seeking government approval. This initiative aims to provide security to villagers through land title certificates, protecting them from land grabs by the government and extractive industries. Collaborating with Cadasta, the Karen people utilize GIS and participatory methods to map over 3.5 million hectares of land, integrating traditional knowledge with modern technology. Despite challenges posed by ongoing conflict and environmental threats, the Karen community remains steadfast in their commitment to securing their land rights and preserving their cultural heritage for future generations. Read more.

Biden Administration’s Bold Move: Embracing Indigenous Knowledge in Alaska’s Oil and Gas Lease Cancellation | BNN: Amidst climate change debates, the Biden Administration has cancelled oil and gas leases in Alaska, recognizing Indigenous Knowledge in decision-making. The Karen people of Myanmar illustrate successful Indigenous land stewardship, serving as a global model for community empowerment and conservation. Read more.

2023

Bridging the Digital Gap for Indigenous Land and Forest Rights | GeoSpatial World:As world leaders convened at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, the need to address the escalating global climate crisis takes center stage. In this critical moment, we underscore the indispensable role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IP&LCs) in safeguarding our planet’s resources. Read more.

How technology can help save Indigenous forests – and our planet | Context: Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez and Amy Coughenour Betancourt underscore the pivotal role of technology in Indigenous land conservation, citing successful partnerships in India, the Peruvian Amazon, and Myanmar, and advocate for scaling up these technologies to empower Indigenous communities in reclaiming their rights and combating climate threats. Read more.

Indigenous rights, conservation to headline African Regional Learning Exchange | The Star: Cadasta’s Diana Kyallo emphasized the importance of leveraging technology in advocating for Indigenous People’s rights and conservation at the African Regional Learning Exchange (ARLE). The event, hosted by the International Land Coalition (ILC), the Tenure Facility (TF), and Community Land Action Now (CLAN), brings together stakeholders from various African nations to discuss advancing the rights of indigenous people and local communities while promoting biodiversity conservation. Cadasta’s focus on empowering vulnerable communities through technology to document and secure land and resource rights aligns with the event’s goal of fostering sustainable and equitable outcomes in land stewardship and conservation. Read more.

Strengthening Local Forest Governance to Restore Forests | Agriculture Extension in South Asia: In this article, PRADAN’s Sailabala Panda explores the interplay between India’s lush forests, its resilient inhabitants, and the urgent need for local governance by delving into the discourse surrounding deforestation, carbon emission, and the delicate balance between sustenance and sustainability based on her field experiences at PRADAN.  Read more.

Indigenous Peoples’ lands are threatened by industrial development; conversion risk assessment reveals need to support Indigenous stewardship | One Earth: Indigenous Peoples are custodians of many of the world’s least-exploited natural areas. These places of local and global socio-ecological importance face significant threats from industrial development expansion, but the risk of conversion of these lands remains unclear. Referencing Cadasta’s work, this article combines global datasets of Indigenous Peoples’ lands, their current ecological condition, and future industrial development pressure to assess conversion threats.  Read more.

Could Tech and Ancestral Knowledge Save the Amazon? | Cool Earth: Local communities and Indigenous Peoples are constantly under threat from illegal activities involving drug trafficking, mining, and deforestation. As of 2022, in Peru alone, over 150 communities have been affected by environmental crimes stemming from illicit activities. Currently, a project developed by the Cadasta Foundation and Cool Earth provides Indigenous communities access to satellite information and data about their territories. Read more.

Mapping Safeguards Indigenous Land and Forests | Geospatial World: Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IP & LCs) collectively manage a staggering 50% of the world’s land and hold 80% of the world’s biodiversity and 22% of the world’s total carbon in forests. Yet, shockingly, only 10% of their lands are legally recognized and protected. Read more.

Exploring barriers and incentives to digital solutions in Natural Resource Management | GSMA: Initiatives like Cadasta are leveraging digital tools to help empower Indigenous Peoples and local communities to map and monitor their resources and reclaim their rights. Read more.

Geospatial Data Empowerment for Achieving SDGs | Geospatial World: Geospatial data has the power to revolutionize decision-making processes by providing valuable insights into social and environmental trends, identifying areas of need, and guiding policy interventions. Cadasta is leading the charge in empowering communities to create and use their own data to secure legal land rights and make community decisions. Read more.

Farmer-centric Data Governance: Towards a New Paradigm | USAID & Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Agricultural technologies (agtech) can benefit farmers, businesses, consumers, and the environment in low- and middle-income countries. However, companies that control the flow of data to and from farmers are more integrated than ever. In an era where a small number of agtech providers increasingly hold unprecedented control over farmer data, digital agriculture is on a trajectory to evolve in ways that may inhibit farmer opportunity—unless digital agriculture stakeholders take deliberate steps to change the trajectory of data governance in the agtech sector. This report showcases the farmer-centric data governance models and the enabling factors needed for their implementation. Read more.

Frontier Technologies for Securing Tenure: A Review of Concepts, Uses and Challenges | IFAD: Land tenure insecurity is a reality for a large proportion of the world, especially those in lower-income, developing contexts. Frontier technologies, which are new and emerging technologies that have the potential to disrupt and supplant existing processes, create new opportunities for addressing this challenge. This publication showcases the range of current frontier technologies used in land tenure projects, as well as the associated benefits and challenges. Read more.

Cadasta Foundation Welcomes New Chief Program Officer | Informed Infrastructure: Cadasta Foundation announces the addition of Rudo Kemper to its leadership team as Chief Program Officer. In this role, Kemper will lead the development and implementation of Cadasta’s program strategy to ensure that the organization’s technology and services are accessible, equitable, and impactful for communities living without recognized land rights. Read more.

2022

Museveni Gives Out Customary Land Titles to Families in Northern Uganda, West Nile & Karamoja | Chimpreports: At a ceremony in Northern Uganda, the President of Uganda Museveni issued Customary Certificates of Occupancy to 1,537 people. The ceremony is the result of a collaborative partnership between Cadasta, the Government of Uganda, Ujamaa Tribe, the UE, and World Bank.  Read more.

Major International Donors Fund New Cadasta Projects | GIM International: As Cadasta’s work has grown to more than 100 projects worldwide, the foundation has expanded and diversified its funding base to include several large donors in the land sector. Read more.

Supporting former refugees in Bangladesh | World Habitat: With support from Cadasta, the Bangladeshi NGO Council of Minorities works to secure the future of the Bihari community through mobilizing residents to develop a community-led organization. Read more.

Technology can be a ‘democratiser’ in land governance | Thomson Reuters Foundation News: As authorities struggle to provide certificates of occupancy to Zanzibar’s growing population, a pilot project supported by Cadasta uses drones and digital mapping to offer a more efficient way to provide residents with land titles. Read more.

Technology can be a ‘democratiser’ in land governance | Daily Maverick: Technology has the power to be a democratiser when it comes to land information and governance. Among some indigenous peoples and local communities, it can be used to monitor forest fires and deforestation or to engage in meaningful discussions around the carbon sequestration potential in their forests. Read more.

Esri Partners Awarded for Outstanding Work | Esri Newsroom: At the 2022 Esri Partner Conference, held in March in Palm Springs, California, Esri acknowledged Cadasta, along with 25 other partners that are doing remarkable work with ArcGIS technology by presenting them with awards in 11 categories. Read on to find out more about the innovative solutions, services, and content that Cadasta and other partners offer. Read more.

Shoring up tenure security to tackle land degradation | Landscape News: At UNCCD COP15, Cadasta’s Diana Kyalo joined scientists and community members to help improve land tenure and shared her experience working with forest-dwelling communities in Kenya’s Mau Forest to map ancestral lands using mobile applications.Read more.

Megatrends in Land Administration | Geospatial World: In a session at the Geospatial World Forum in Amsterdam, Amy Coughenour discusses the need for government to collaborate with civil society and communities on land administration projects. Amy cited examples from Brazil where Cadasta’s geospatial technology was used to collect data with the support of local community members, which helped issue 1,400 land titles to women in peri-urban areas in Bonito, Brazil. Read more.

Shoring up tenure security to tackle land degradation | Landscape News: At UNCCD COP15, Cadasta’s Diana Kyalo joined scientists and community members to help improve land tenure and shared her experience working with forest-dwelling communities in Kenya’s Mau Forest to map ancestral lands using mobile applications. Read more.

Securing Women’s Land Rights: It Takes a Village, Appropriate Technology, and Real Investment to Deliver | Geospatial World: As an organization focused on advancing land and resources rights for women and marginalized people through innovative technology and services, Cadasta Foundation applauds the global commitment to ramp up progress on equal rights for women and girls. Yet, we need to ask two important questions: what does it look like in practice for women to gain rights to land, property, and inheritance? And what is needed to make this happen? Read more.

Her Land, Her Power: How geospatial tech secures women’s land rights | Geospatial Commission: In this blog, Amy discusses how the lives of women in countries where land ownership goes undocumented or unregistered, are negatively impacted, socially and economically. If gender-equal land ownership is a vital part of achieving gender equality, what can we do to ensure women’s land rights? And what role can geospatial technology play? Read more.

Transforming Our Cities by Addressing Gender Deficit in Land Titles in Brazil | Urbanet: Can we transform our cities by addressing the gender insecurity and inadequacy women face? In the northeast state of Pernambuco in Brazil, Cadasta partner Espaço Feminista reflects on lessons learned from fighting for women’s land rights by achieving land regularisation in informal settlements. Read more.

Cadasta Foundation receives Esri’s Sustainable Development Award for Exceptional Achievement | Geospatial World: Cadasta Foundation received the Esri Sustainable Development Award at the 2022 Esri Partner Conference (EPC) held in Palm Springs, California March 5–7, 2022. This award was presented to Cadasta for helping partners meet global sustainable development goals by understanding their needs, mapping their work, measuring impact, analyzing performance, and engaging stakeholders. Read more.

Esri Recognizes Partners for Innovation and Excellence | GIS User: Esri, the global leader in geographic information systems (GIS) and location intelligence, honored Cadasta for its outstanding application of GIS software to sustainable development projects during the Plenary session at the Esri Partner Conference (EPC) held at the Palm Springs Convention Center in Palm Springs, CA. Read more.

 

2021

Liberia: Cadasta Foundation, Partners Launch Community Land Intervention Monitoring and Management Tools for Liberia Land Authority | allAfrica: The Liberia Land Authority (LLA) has benefited from Community Land Intervention Monitoring and Management Tools (CLIMT) launched through its partners, CADASTA, Lantmateriet and the Swedish Mapping. The tool was built to improve LLA’s ability to manage and monitor Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) activity, support donor coordination and transparency and also to enable CSOs to record land intervention using smartphone applications or web-based tools. Read more.

54 International NGOs Applaud Administrator Power’s Commitment to Locally-Led Development | Care.org: A group of 54 international NGOs from across the humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding sectors sent a letter to Administrator Samantha Power praising her commitment to direct 25% of U.S. foreign assistance to authentically local, autonomous organizations. Read more.

Liberia: CADASTA Foundation, Partners Launch Community Land Intervention Monitoring and Management Tools for Liberia Land Authority | Front Page Africa: The Liberia Land Authority (LLA) has benefited from Community Land Intervention Monitoring and Management Tools (CLIMT) launched through its partners, CADASTA, Lantmateriet and the Swedish Mapping. The tool was built to improve LLA’s ability to manage and monitor Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) activity, support donor coordination and transparency and also to enable CSOs to record land intervention using smartphone applications or web-based tools. Read more.

Important Step towards Land Ownership for Rural Population in Liberia | GIM International: A Cadasta supported web-based geodata solution has been launched in Liberia to support people’s land ownership rights by improving cooperation between the Liberia Land Authority (LLA) and civil society organizations. Work is underway in the West African country to formalize customary land in order to issue legal deeds for land that the rural population previously owned solely by customary law. Read more.

The 8th Asia-Pacific Homes and Housing Conference officially opened with a call to “Building a Better Future” for Greener and Safer Homes | Newswit: The 8th Asia-Pacific Housing Forum ran from 7 to 9 December 2021, serving as a multi-sectoral platform for individuals and organizations like Cadasta to share ideas and expand networks. Access to a safer, more sustainable homes is criticial to the ability of communities to cope with disasters. Read more.

Liberia Land Authority Launches Community Land Intervention, Monitoring | The Independent Probe Newspaper: With support from Cadasta and the Sweden Mission to Liberia, the Liberia Land Authority (LLA) has launched a community land intervention monitoring and management tool amid reporting information on land conflict in Liberia. Read more.

Nairobi: Maps and Data Storytelling Empower Action for the Urban Poor | Esri Blog: Evicted residents of Nairobi’s urban informal settlements use Cadasta’s tools, maps, and data storytelling to protect their right to land and lawful eviction practices.  Read more.

Waatavaran to push FRA in Raigarh with global support | The Times of India: A city-based environment group, Waatavaran Foundation, has launched a digital campaign to support co-existence of tribal communities within forest areas of cities. Called ‘Adivasis for Forests’, the initiative has been launched in association with the Raigad district administration and technical and financial support from US-based Cadasta Foundation, Consulate General of Canada in Mumbai and Vikas Sahyog Pratishthan. Read more.

Raigad: Environment group launches digital drive to include tribals in district administration | The Free Press Journal: A city-based environment group, Waatavaran Foundation, has launched a digital campaign to support co-existence of tribal communities within forest areas of cities. Called ‘Adivasis for Forests’, the initiative has been launched in association with the Raigad district administration and technical and financial support from US-based Cadasta Foundation, Consulate General of Canada in Mumbai and Vikas Sahyog Pratishthan. Read more.

This duo incubates early-stage non-profits. Their goal: Bring 1 crore Indians out of poverty by 2025 | Forbes India: It takes a village to create a successful, scalable non-profit startup, and Sudha Srinivasan and team at The/Nudge Centre for Social Innovation have set out to build an infrastructure that promotes disruptive, differentiated thinking to solve critical social issues, Cadasta’s partnership with Waatavaran is one of them.  Read more.

Using geospatial data to monitor SDG progress, support circular economy | Geospatial World: The SDGs are highly dependent on geospatial information and emerging technologies as they provide the primary data and tools to connect people to their location, place and environment, and measure ‘where’ progress is not being made, especially at local levels. Cadasta’s Amy Coughenour highlights the role of technological innovations to connect at the community level.  Read more. 

Devex Dish: The view from the alternative food systems summit: Cadasta CEO underscores the need for global stakeholders to protect and secure smallholder producers’ land and resource rights as a prerequisite for a sustainable food system in this Devex Dish piece about the UN Food System Summit Week.  Learn More

If More Women Owned Land, More People Might be Fed | Esri Blog: Women, who make up half of the global adult population and 43 percent of the agricultural workforce, account for less than 15 percent of farmland owners. Learn More

Cadasta honored for special achievement in GIS | Geospatial World: Esri presented Cadasta Foundation with Esri’s Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award on July 12, 2021, at the annual Esri User Conference (Esri UC), which was held virtually. Selected from over 300,000 eligible candidates, Cadasta received the award for its innovative use of mapping and analytics technology, as well as leadership in the land records and cadastral fields. Learn More

Preview: FIG e-Working Week Headlines | GIM International: WFIG has been bringing surveyors and geospatial experts together since 1878. Apart from the inauguration in 1878 and the second meeting in 1910, surveyors have met almost every single year since 1926: a total of 91 times if we only count the main annual events. This 92nd annual meeting in June 2021 will again bring surveyors together, albeit differently. Thanks to the digital era, you can now attend the first ever FIG e-Working Week. Learn More

How our technology secured land rights for 5 million people in 5 years | Land Portal: What could happen if we could document, register, and secure the rights of 1 billion tenure-insecure people around the world? That is the question that Cadasta Foundation sought to answer at its founding in 2015 as a global land rights platform harnessing technology and services to advance and resource rights for the most vulnerable. Equipped with powerful technology and a team of experts, our mission is to build a world where even the most marginalized individuals and communities can benefit from the opportunities afforded by secure land and resource rights. Learn More

Realizing Women’s Rights to Land and Other Productive Resources | United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): Women’s rights to land and other productive resources are essential for realizing their rights to equality and to an adequate standard of living, among many other rights. Women’s secure access to land and resources supports their independence and autonomy, provides for their day-to-day needs and those of their families and allows them to weather some of life’s most difficult challenges. Realizing women’s land rights is an integral part of the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Learn More

How maps built with Facebook AI can help with COVID-19 vaccine delivery | Facebook AI: As work continues to vaccinate most of the world’s nearly 8 billion people against COVID-19, accurate population maps are urgently needed. This need is especially great in low-income communities, where population data may be poor or out of date. Cadasta’s work with Pamoja Trust is mentioned as an example of how Facebook’s maps are informing the delivery of critical services around the world.  Learn More

India’s digital IDs for land could exclude poor, indigenous communities | Reuters: Plans by the Indian government to assign digital identification numbers to plots of land could exclude rural and indigenous people who do not hold titles, and further marginalise those without internet access, experts said. Learn More

Surveyors and their global role as humanitarians: U.S. based surveyor Tim Burch summarizes his experience attending FIG’s recent Volunteer Community Surveyor Program where he learned about Cadasta’s tools and the role and potential of humanitarian surveying. Learn More

Did Data Make a Difference? Reviewing the Crises of 2020 with Facebook Data for Good | Direct Relief: In a year beset by crisis like no other, Facebook’s Data for Good Annual Report highlights collaborations with groups like Cadasta to respond to public health and humanitarian challenges around the world.  Learn More

2020

Edith Brown Weiss as a Pathfinder: Strengthening Property Rights and Community-Based Resource Governance for Indigenous Peoples Worldwide | Georgetown Environmental Law Review: Cadasta is thrilled to have been featured in the latest edition of the Georgetown University Environmental Law Review. The article highlights how Cadasta’s technology and participatory, bottom-up approach to land documentation and mapping are advancing land rights for Indigenous and community lands.  Learn More

Cadasta Launches New Training and Support Center to Support the Global Documentation of Land and Resource Rights | Geospatial PR: Cadasta launched a new Training and Support Center to support its global partners in their work to document and secure land and property rights. The Cadasta Training and Support Center allows partners to more easily and efficiently access free, online knowledge resources. The Center combines all of Cadasta’s training materials, instructional guides, and support request items into a single location.  Learn More

Preserve nature or survive: Amazon farmers’ COVID-19 dilemma | World News Monitor: Cadasta Program Specialist Antonio Inguane explains how the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted small-scale farmers’ entire supply chains, pushing many farmers into deforestation and illegal mining.  Learn More

The quest for secure property rights in Africa | The Economist: Despite a flurry of attempts made in the last two decades to map and parcel land in the developing world, the potential of property rights remains largely unrealized, especially in Africa. This Economist article examines the history, successes, and challenges of property rights projects in Africa with a special mention of Cadasta.  Learn More

Community-led development in former refugee camp reaches next phase | World Habitat: The second phase of a ground-breaking project to establish community-led development in a former refugee camp has begun in Bangladesh, using Cadasta tools. The project – which is co-funded by World Habitat – aims to secure the land in two ‘pilot’ camps, where over 6,600 Bihari families live.  Learn More

Leveraging technology to lower the cost of credit to small scale farmers in Uganda | Business News: By using tools like Cadasta’s Platform to document land and property, banks can get a clearer picture of their customers to make more informed decisions and reduce the risks associated with lending to facilitate agricultural development. Learn More

Cadasta Foundation, Waatavaran to secure forest rights under FRA | Times of India: Cadasta Foundation and Waatavaran have joined hands to secure the land claims of scheduled caste and tribal communities in Western India.  Learn More

Announcing a joint campaign to protect the land rights of tribal communities | Lokmat: Cadasta Foundation and Waatavaran have announced a joint campaign to protect the land rights of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Western India.  Learn More

Cadasta and Waatavaran partner to empower forest dwellers with land rights | Geospatial World: Using Cadasta’s Esri-based platform—with its accessible satellite imagery, mobile tools, and digital maps—the project began data collection last month and aims to document 2,000 households, representing approximately 12,000 citizens. Learn More

World Environment Day: Reflections on land, youth and sustainable agriculture | YILaA: In June our international community celebrated World Environment Day 2020. To mark the occasion, YILaA interviewed Cadasta CEO Amy Coughenour Betancourt to discuss key issues related to land rights and how it relates to youth empowerment, environmental conservation, and the development of sustainable agriculture. This article summarizes some of the main points discussed with Amy as well as her recommendations for the international community for improved land management practices in Africa, a mission shared by YILaA and Cadasta Foundation. Learn More

OPINION: Reimagining resilient food systems for food security post-COVID and beyond | Thomson Reuters Foundation News: In her oped, Cadasta’s CEO Amy Coughenour Betancourt explains why women’s land rights are at the heart of a reimagined food system to withstand the ravages of disasters and pandemic. Learn More

Cadasta Foundation to Advance Small-scale Farmer Rights in Argentina’s Chaco Region | Geospatial World: Cadasta Foundation and Fundapaz are pleased to announce the signing of a Partnership Agreement to mutually support and advocate for improved community access to land and natural resources in Northern Argentina. Learn More

How Geospatial Surveying Is Driving Land Administration | GIM International: GIM International provides a major update on the geospatial industry, paying special attention to standardization, technical approaches, and land data acquisition in the context of global policies. The article highlights Cadasta as a solution that supports community participation. Learn More

Cadasta Foundation signs NGO Climate Compact with commitments toward Environmental Action and Sustainability | Geospatial World: Cadasta Foundation is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day by signing onto Interaction Forum’s NGO Climate Compact: Commitments Toward Environmental Action and Sustainability. Learn More

PRESS RELEASE: Three African Organizations Receive Cadasta’s Inaugural Data Accelerator Grants to Advance Land Rights | Land Portal: The first round of Cadasta Foundation’s Data Accelerator Grant(link is external) has been released to three African organizations to advance land rights and tenure security for vulnerable populations.
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OPINION: Domestic violence survivors battle tenure insecurity in Brazil | Thomas Reuters Foundation: Millions of women across the world, particularly those who are poor and have few economic opportunities, struggle to secure their right to land, says Cadasta’s Antonio Inguane.
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India’s poor risk loss of privacy, land in drive to digitise records | Thomas Reuters Foundation: Cadasta’s Amy Coughenour weighs in on the risks and benefits of land records digitization.
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Behind High-Rise Buildings and Skyscrapers Hides Poverty and Inequality in Urban Angola | Land Portal [Opinion] Will skyscrapers one day represent the prosperity that every Angolan citizen has dreamed about? This is the question Cadasta’s Antonio Inguane poses. Achieving that goal requires stronger political will and more government commitment to implementing bold governance and economic reforms that are centred on people’s best interests.
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GWF 2020 to highlight the value of geospatial technology in digital economy in 5G era | GeoSpatial World [Mention] The Geospatial World Forum 2020 will bring together geospatial professionals and leaders, including Cadasta’s CEO Amy Coughenour, representing the entire eco-system of public policies, national mapping agencies, private sector enterprises, multilateral and development organizations, scientific and academic institutions, and above all, large end users from government, businesses and citizen services at the Taets Art and Event Park, Amsterdam.
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Land Administration: Configure, Please… | GIM International [Mention/ Quote] Having worked in land administration for many years, Esri’s Brent Jones has seen all types of projects succeed and fail. Although there is no golden ticket to success, in this column Brent describes how we can increase our chances of success by learning from these failures, using Cadasta’s transition to an Esri-supported platform as an example.
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OPINION: Behind high-rise buildings and skyscrapers hides poverty and inequality in urban Angola | Directions Magazine [Opinion] Will skyscrapers one day represent the prosperity that every Angolan citizen has dreamed about? This is the question Cadasta’s Antonio Inguane poses. Achieving that goal requires stronger political will and more government commitment to implementing bold governance and economic reforms that are centred on people’s best interests.
Learn More

Geospatial World Forum 2020 to highlight the value of geospatial technology in digital economy in the 5G Era | Directions Magazine [Mention] The Geospatial World Forum 2020 will bring together geospatial professionals and leaders, including Cadasta’s CEO Amy Coughenour, representing the entire eco-system of public policies, national mapping agencies, private sector enterprises, multilateral and development organizations, scientific and academic institutions, and above all, large end users from government, businesses and citizen services at the Taets Art and Event Park, Amsterdam.
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Cadasta Foundation Welcomes New Director of GIS and Technology Chuck Conley | Informed Infastructure [Feature] Cadasta Foundation is pleased to welcome Chuck Conley as its new Director of GIS and Technology. In this role, Chuck will serve as Cadasta’s technology solution lead and will work alongside senior leadership to lead, analyze, develop, and implement innovative technical strategies to document the land and resource rights of vulnerable communities.

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2019

Civic engagement, innovation needed in disaster-recovery and reconstruction process | Devex [Opinion] Cadasta’s Programs Specialist Antonio Inguane explains that although there is a call for a global consciousness about climate change, there is also a need for broader country-level civil engagement in post-disaster relief and recovery processes.

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Gentrification and involuntary displacement: The nightmare for Africa’s urban poor
| THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION 
[Opinion] Growing socio-economic segregation in housing and urban space is leading to harmful disparities in African cities.

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Cadasta Foundation Launches New Global Land Rights Challenge Fund to Secure Land and Resource Rights | Geospatial World [Feature] Cadasta Foundation has launched its new Global Land Rights Challenge Fund to help partners better leverage Cadasta’s innovative tools and services to document land and resource rights worldwide.
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Hi-tech mapping has good intentions for land rights but can backfire | All Africa [Quote]
Cadasta’s Katie Pickett weighs in on how new technologies used to map areas in developing nations for granting titles and aiding development could be misused to further marginalize vulnerable people.
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Should open-source software be the gold standard for nonprofits? | Devex  [Feature]
Open-source software has become the default choice for many nonprofits, but it doesn’t always add as much value as many think. Cadasta’s CEO Amy Coughenour weighs in on the topic by discussing Cadasta’s transition from open-source software to an Esri supported platform.
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Omidyar network targets $350 million investment in 5 years | Hindu Business Line  [Mention]
Omidyar Network India aims to invest $350 million over the next five years through both equity investments as well as grants.
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Opportunities for female land surveyors in emerging economies | Coordinates Magazine [Opinion]
Cadasta’s Anne Girardin and Madaleine Weber highlight how we can learn and accomplish a great deal when female land intermediaries work hand-in-hand with chartered surveyors.
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Let data drive urban planning in Mozambique | Place  [Opinion]
Mozambique is struggling to address challenges from migration to population growth and inadequate urban planning. Tools like Cadasta can help city planners deliver innovative urban governance solutions.
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GIS for SDGs: ‘See things that were impossible to see,’ Esri founder says | Devex  [Quote / Mention]
Cadasta Foundation announced the launch of its new mobile technology and strategy on the sidelines of the World Bank Land and Poverty Conference in Washington, DC.
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Getting land rights on the map — a stable foundation for sustainable communities | A Better World  [Opinion]
Land and property rights are not usually listed among the top priorities for human rights or development goals—but they should be. Having a secure place to call home, without fear of expulsion, is a basic human right. That’s why Cadasta is working to make it easier and more affordable to document land and resource rights.
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Consultancy to use tech to map land tenures | The New Indian Express [Mention]
The Center for Land Governance is planning to launch a pilot project on a range of technologies to map land tenures like individual forest rights, community forest rights and common lands.The pilot project would be launched in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in a joint initiative by the NRMC, Foundation for Ecological Security, and Cadasta Foundation.
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Without Property Rights, Prosperity is Built on a Shaky Foundation | Chicago Council on Global Affairs   [Opinion]
Cadasta’s CEO Amy Coughenour discusses how a recent trip to India underscored how having a secure place to call home and a legal address serves as a foundation for a lot of our economic and social activity–getting a job, enrolling in school, opening a bank account, getting medical care, and almost every area of daily life. Our homes and properties are linked to our ability to prosper, and we often take that for granted.
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Secure Land Rights is the Path to End Global Poverty | Thomson Reuters Foundation News    [Mention]
Having a title, deed or lease is the key that turns informal occupants into citizens, yet 70% of the world’s population lives without documented property rights. In his oped, Esri’s founder and president Jack Dangermond explains why secure land rights is the path to end global poverty.
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Why We Continue to Support Cadasta Foundation | Omidyar Network    [Feature]
In today’s rapidly advancing world, technology and human ingenuity are improving lives across the globe. However, millions of people are being left behind by lack of access to these innovations and the benefits they create. That’s why Omidyar Network continues to support Cadasta Foundation as we embark on our next phase, harnessing technology and data to create more equitable opportunity for all. 
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Chicoco Maps Our Cities | Revue XYZ    [Feature]
480,000 people live on the waterfront in Port Harcourt, Nigeria and face the threat of demolition by the government. Forced evictions and demolitions in 2009 by security forces led to relocations and death of community members. No plans exist to compensate or relocate residents of informal settlements and the mass demolition of these neighborhoods is impractical. Cadasta’s Anne Girardin discusses how these communities move from evictions to partnership-based development?
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Using Geodata to Secure Land Tenure | Geospatial World Magazine [Feature]
In her article, Cadasta CEO Amy Coughenour explains how Cadasta’s use of geospatial technology helps communities and their stakeholders make better decisions. 
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Cadasta Foundation Launches New Platform and Strategy to Put Land Rights on the Map | Omidyar Network  [Feature]
Cadasta Foundation announced the launch of its new mobile technology and strategy on the sidelines of the World Bank Land and Poverty Conference in Washington, DC.
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Drones to undertake India’s ‘biggest’ land survey exercise | Thomson Reuters Foundation News [Quote]
Dozens of drones mounted with high-resolution cameras will aim to map and deliver land rights to about 15 million rural households in Maharashtra. Cadasta’s CEO Amy Coughenour weighs in on the need for governments to accept community-led data collection methods to fill the data gap. 
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Visible or invisible? That’s the question for land data | Thomson Reuters Foundation News [Quote]
Visible or invisible? That’s the question for land data Cadasta’s Frank Pichel says that while collecting data and opening up access to it can lead to greater efficiency in land administration, increased prosperity, and greater accountability, communities must also be able to assess the potential risks. Community feedback – and consent – is essential to determining what data on land should be open.
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How One Million People in India’s Odisha Slums Gain Land Rights | Esri Newsroom   [Feature]
Under an ambitious government program, one million residents of informal settlements in Odisha state, India received formal certificates of occupancy to their land and homes. Learn how Cadasta’s tools supported the initiative and helped provide a sense of security and permanence to the settlements residents.
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India’s pastoralists urged to use technology to protect rights | Thomson Reuters Foundation News [Quote ]
Herders around the world are coming under pressure from governments and farmers to settle down and stop their livestock roaming. Cadasta’s Amy Coughenour explains how mapping technologies like Cadasta’s can help preserve their traditions & livelihoods, manage the challenges & reduce conflicts.
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The Development Challenge You’re Overlooking: Seven Things You Need to Know About Land Rights | Next Billion [Mention ]
The lack of property rights is a persistent obstacle to social cohesion, financial inclusion and economic growth. That’s why organizations like Cadasta are taking an alternative approach to documenting land rights.
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New mobile technologies helping over one million people to obtain rights to their land | aptantech [Feature]
At the 2019 World Bank Land and Poverty Conference, Cadasta revealed dramatic findings concerning the impact of new mobile technologies that are helping more than one million of the world’s most vulnerable people obtain rights to their land in urban slums and rural regions in 17 countries, while creating a model for addressing some of the most intractable obstacles to access to government services and sustainable livelihoods in poor countries.
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New platform and strategy for land rights | ee publishers [Feature]
Cadasta Foundation announced the launch of its new mobile technology and strategy on the sidelines of the World Bank Land and Poverty Conference in Washington, DC.
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Helping transform slums into liveable habitats, bit by bit | The Hindu    [Mention]
In a first of its kind initiative, Tata Trusts is pioneering a project which is set to become a model for rejuvenation of life in slums.
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Cadasta Foundation launches new platform and strategy to put land rights on the map | GeoSpatial World    [Feature]
Cadasta Foundation will launch its new mobile technology and strategy on the sidelines of the World Bank Land and Poverty Conference. The first version of the Cadasta platform successfully documented and strengthened the land, property and resource rights of over one million vulnerable people living in both rural and urban communities in 17 countries.
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Leveraging Geospatial Tools and Technology to Document the Land Rights of Vulnerable Communities | Geoawesomeness  [Opinion]
Cadasta’s Product Manager Asaf Even-Paz explains why everyone deserves to be recognized and have their rights documented, especially when it comes to the land they live and work on. 
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How One Million People in India’s Odisha Slums Gain Land Rights | Esri Newsroom  [Opinion]
Under an ambitious government program, one million residents of informal settlements in Odisha state, India received formal certificates of occupancy to their land and homes. Learn how Cadasta’s tools supported the initiative and helped provide a sense of security and permanence to the settlements residents.
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Puerto Rico’s reconstruction will be costly. Documenting residents’ property doesn’t have to be. | Miami Herald   [Mention]
Puerto Rico’s reconstruction will be costly. Documenting residents’ property doesn’t have to be. Recent advancements in technology, like those offered by Cadasta, can help reduce the cost and time of land and property rights documentation.
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2018

Bridging Gaps to Advance Land Rights |  Cadasta Blog   [Feature]
For Cadasta, bridging the gap between those with formally recognized land rights and the vast majority without, is our call to action. In her blog, Cadasta’s new CEO Amy Coughenour shares her ideas for growing Cadasta’s potential to advance land rights for the world’s most marginalized people.
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Introducing Cadasta 2.0: An Esri-Supported Platform for Improved Land and Resource Rights Documentation | Cadasta Blog   [Feature]
Since our founding, Cadasta’s goal has been to provide our partners with simple and affordable technology, training, and technical assistance to document, map, and store property, land, and resource rights data. By partnering with Esri, Cadasta will be able to provide more robust, scalable, and flexible services to our partners. See our blog for more on how this partnership will improve our ability to support our partners and the documentation of land and resource rights.
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IT in Fit-For-Purpose land administraton: what are the options? | Kadaster Abroad   [Feature]
Cadasta was featured in the latest edition of the Kadaster International Abroad Newsletter for our fit-for-purpose tools that allow partners to collect data quickly based on their specific needs.
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Discourse On Women’s Land Rights Needs Change Of Lens | Odisha TV [Mention] [Quote]
There is a growing body of knowledge that proves that land ownership is crucial for women to lead a dignified life. In this article, the author argues that it is time to change the way we look at women’s land rights.
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The Green Revolution Reboot: Women’s Land Rights | Devex  [Opinion]
Amy Coughenour Betancourt and Justine Uvuza discuss the need to recognize the critical role women play in feeding their families and our planet.
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Risky Business: Tenure Issues Main Deterrent for Investment | Global Landscapes Forum    [Quote]
Experts from finance, research and policy all cite land tenure as the biggest perceived risk in a new USAID study.
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Surveying and Mapping with Your Smartphone | GIM International    [Mention]
The use of community participation, mobile technologies and cloud storage services could create a new way of undertaking land administration activities, and ultimately lead to more secure land rights for all.
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Factoring in Land Rights in the Push for Sustainable Landscapes | Landscape News   [Feature]
What do land rights have to do with building the investment case for sustainable landscapes? According to Chief Program Officer Frank Pichel, a great deal.
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Best Practices and Inspiring Ideas for Land Administrators | GIM International    [Mention]
GIM International discusses ingenuitive new methods in land administration and the best tools for building cadastres and creating sustainable records of land ownership.
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Strengthening Women’s Land Rights: The Neglected Lever Towards Increasing AG Production | Chicago Council on Global Affairs  [Opinion]
Frank Pichel discusses the dire need to improve women’s land rights and rights to inherit property around the world.
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Urbanization Triggers Land Disputes in Indian Cities | Reuters   [Quote]
What do land rights have to do with building the investment case for sustainable landscapes? According to Chief Program Officer Frank Pichel, a great deal.
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Faster Cadastre | RICS   [Feature]
A critical shortage of surveyors is slowing down the documentation of land around the world — a vital step in reducing poverty. Frank Pichel reveals how new technologies are replacing traditional surveys with quicker and easier methods.
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2017

Apps for Land Administration | GIM International   [Mention]
The use of community participation, mobile technologies and cloud storage services could create a new way of undertaking land administration activities, and ultimately lead to more secure land rights for all.
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Democracy That Delivers #95: Cadasta’s Frank Pichel Explains How Land Rights Impact Modern Economies | Paperblog    [Feature]
Cadasta Foundation Interim CEO Frank Pichel discusses the importance of land rights on a Center for International Private Enterprise episode of the podcast “Democracy That Delivers.”
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Digital Technologies for Resilience Workshop | e-Agriculture    [Opinion]
Cadasta participated in the Digital Technologies for Resilience Workshop in Bangkok.
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Four Bottom-up Solutions to Strengthen Land Rights in Emerging Markets | Next Billion    [Opinion]
Although governments are beginning to invest in improved land information and administration, several organizations are already working from the ground up to address the paucity of land rights around the world.
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Africa: This Land is NOT for Sale | All Africa   [Opinion]
Want to sell your property in a developed economy? Put up a for sale sign. Want to keep your property in an emerging economy? Put up a NOT for sale sign.
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Securing Land Rights in Africa | Project Syndicate   [Opinion]
Across the continent, insecure rights to land are robbing millions of financial stability and long-term prosperity. While new technology is giving people the tools to define what’s theirs, governments must recognize that certainty of ownership is a prerequisite of sustainable development.
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Innovative Tools for Tenure Recordation | GIM International   [Mention]
Cadasta and other organizations continue to integrate new and innovative methods in their drive to document property ownership around the world.
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A Mobile Application to Secure Land Tenure | New America   [Opinion]
Data collection apps make cheap, crowdsourced data collection more feasible than ever—but how does that translate to developing countries?
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Cadasta: Mapping Land Rights from the Bottom Up | xyHt   [Feature]
Cadasta helps put people on the map with a cloud-based platform for land-ownership data.
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Open Technology for Land Rights Documentation | opensource.com   [Opinion]
One-third of people on the planet don’t have documented rights to the land on which they rely. New technologies can make it easier than ever to document land and resource rights.
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2016

How Accessible and Reliable Is Your National Government’s Data? | GIM International   [Opinion]
You can join others from around the world in grading how your government makes data available through the Open Knowledge International Global Open Data Index survey.
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Getting to Sustainable Palm Oil: A Hardware and Software Approach to a Market Problem | New Security Beat   [Opinion]
Embracing innovative technology is essential for the palm oil industry to reverse its destructive impact and adopt rigorous sustainable sourcing standards.
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Using Fintech to Forge a More Transparent World | Forest News   [Quote]
Technological innovations like blockchains are opening up new frontiers – for land rights, supply chain governance and more.
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2015

Bitcoin Technology for Land Administration? | Devex    [Opinion]
Over the last year, Bitcoin has enjoyed significant news coverage, but does it have the potential to improve transparency in the context of land transaction records?
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