4 September 2024

Innovations in land use: from established practices to modern technologies

A new system of land resource management, the digitalization of various processes, and bringing unused land into circulation are all contributing to economic growth in Russia’s regions. Throughout, the National Spatial Data System remains key to improving efficiency with regard to land relations and facilitating the development of the construction sector. Those were the conclusions reached at a session entitled Innovations in Land Use: From Established Practices to Modern Technologies, which took place as part of the Eastern Economic Forum.

 

KEY CONCLUSIONS

Conducting cadastral surveys and bringing unused land into circulation will help boost regional development

“Reforming [land – ed.] relations and bringing things into order will provide a major boost to development... in the regions. In the very near future, we plan... to greatly increase public satisfaction... with regard to the simplicity and accessibility... of obtaining land, clarifying land boundaries, and resolving ownership issues of land plots and real estate. [We also aim to – ed.] stimulate investment in construction. <...> This is not just about facilitating and enabling major investment projects... but also increasing public revenue for regional and local budgets... and obtaining permanent sources of income for regional budgets,” Sergey Gavrilov, Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Property, Land and Property Relations.

 

“A few years ago, I was watching the news on television, and an American professor said that Russia is a weak country, that it cannot oppose the West, that Russia is an ‘economic dwarf’. Hearing this caused me great indignation. <...> Today, we... can happily note that Russia is confidently becoming an economic giant. It is a status fitting of the country,” Emil Safarov, Director of the Department of Land Construction and the Unified State Real Estate Cadastre, “State Cadastre and Real Estate Register” of the State Service for Property Issues under the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

 

The National Spatial Data System is an important tool for developing settlements and boosting investment in the regions

“Without the data available in the NSDS [National Spatial Data System – ed.]... there would be no such capitalization of land plots or decisions on the direction and manner in which a particular settlement should develop in terms of housing, infrastructure, industry, calculations, transport provision, and so on. <...> Today, the fact that land plots can be incorporated and developed effectively and promptly helps make towns more attractive. It translates into increased revenues to municipal and regional budgets, expands the taxable base, and most importantly, qualitatively changes the approach to investments in a particular region,” Nikita Stasishin, Deputy Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Russian Federation.

 

“We understand and acknowledge the necessity of developing the National Spatial Data System as one of the important tools and mechanisms for promoting the development of the construction sector in general, and housing in particular. <...> The overarching NSDS programme includes a project entitled Land for Construction, which we consider to be crucial. <...> In the past 18 months alone... we have attended more than 500 meetings at regional headquarters... Through working together with the team at Rosreestr and the regions, we have established an effective channel for identifying land and subsequently bringing it into circulation. We have already allocated several thousand hectares for construction in this way, which is crucial for the development of housing construction, construction as a whole, and urban renewal,” Anatoly Azizov, Managing Director, DOM.RF.

 

Rosreestr’s projects are helping the regions make improvements to property and land relations

“Since 2023, we have been operating under the NSDS’s digital platform as a pilot initiative. <...> We have provided information on more than 1.5 million sites, including those related to forests, urban planning, and protected zones. The number of rights holders has increased from 70% to 95%... which translated into... order in relations with rights holders and additional tax revenues for regional and municipal budgets. The region is also successfully implementing the Land for Construction and Land for Tourism projects, and 430 hectares have already been brought into civil circulation. The digitalization of property and land relations is truly the breakthrough that the regions participating in Rosreestr’s project have accomplished,” Dmitry Makhonin, Governor of Perm Territory.

 

PROBLEMS

Conducting cadastral surveys and bringing land into circulation, including unused land

“Key tasks include conducting cadastral surveys... bringing unused and inefficient land into circulation, allocating land for construction and infrastructure, incorporating land into urban planning strategies, and monitoring land use. This is being done right now in 24 regions of Russia,” Sergey Gavrilov, Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Property, Land and Property Relations.

 

“We see potential to integrate the National Spatial Data System and the geographical information system for auctions to improve the quality and speed of decision-making by all key participants in the land circulation process. <...> Together with our colleagues from Rosreestr, we are discussing the possibility of integrating the National Spatial Data System with the systems that DOM.RF has built and developed. This primarily concerns our integrated information system for housing construction,” Anatoly Azizov, Managing Director, DOM.RF.

 

“An absolutely key objective is to move away from imports and switch over to Russian-made geoinformation technologies. We must also incorporate municipal and regional services in the NSDS,” Sergey Gavrilov, Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Property, Land and Property Relations.

 

SOLUTIONS

Continuing to improve legislation in the field of land relations

“Not so long ago, we adopted a law... which establishes criteria for the non-use of land plots within settlement boundaries. This will allow us to solve issues in a great many settlements where we cannot discern who the owners are. We will also be able to bring land plots into circulation, and boost construction. <...> We have adopted a number of laws, which notably concern the synchronization of land lease terms with investment projects. In addition, we have made decisions on incorporating plots into circulation which are located within the second drinking water supply source belt,” Sergey Gavrilov, Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Property, Land and Property Relations.

“We would propose introducing a ban on transactions involving land plots whose boundaries have not been defined. This would prompt rights holders to take action and understand that everything needs to be registered. <...> Secondly, [we need to] introduce an obligation for the rights holder to register ownership rights to real estate. That should apply both to newly created real estate and that registered before 1998 but not recorded in the Unified State Real Estate Register. <...> One problem today is the fact that local government bodies pay the original tariff for notarial transactions when inheriting real estate exhibiting signs of escheated property. <...> We have sent proposals to the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation and the Federal Notary Chamber to consider exempting local government bodies from the established regional tariff for notarial transactions,” Igor Kobzev, Governor of Irkutsk Region.

 

Promoting agricultural development with a view to bringing unused land into circulation

“Abandoned land was a fairly pressing issue for Azerbaijan following the land reform... However, the state began allocating resources to restore the collector-drainage system, new irrigation canals were constructed, and several key reservoirs were built. In 2019, the President issued a decree on the creation of a new subsidy mechanism in the agricultural sector. Thanks to this, attitudes towards agricultural land began to change; people started cultivating even abandoned lands. As a result, there are virtually no abandoned lands in private hands in the vast majority of regions across the country,” Emil Safarov, Director of the Department of Land Construction and the Unified State Real Estate Cadastre, “State Cadastre and Real Estate Register” of the State Service for Property Issues under the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

 

Streamlining investment processes through the implementation of a comprehensive territorial development mechanism

“Comprehensive territorial development is about streamlining investment processes, the potential for project-based solutions from municipal and regional authorities, and [the ability – ed.] to explain to residents how they will benefit if they participate in the financing process. <...> And this is transparency. With infill development... problems concerning the construction of schools and nurseries always end up arising,” Igor Kobzev, Governor of Irkutsk Region.

 

*This is a translation of material that was originally generated in Russian using artificial intelligence.

For more information, visit the Roscongress Foundation’s Information and Analytical System at roscongress.org/en

 

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