Written evidence submitted by the Royal
Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
ABOUT RICS
RICS provides the world's leading qualification
for professional standards in land, property and construction,
with over 100,000 professionals based in some 100 countries.
Established in 1868, RICS is a Royal Charter
professional body, acting in the public interest: setting and
upholding the highest standards of excellence and integrity; and
providing impartial, informed advice on the big issues for society,
governments and business, worldwide.
With some 200 specialisms, the profession
covers the whole lifecycle of land, property and construction,
and the associated environmental issues: from land information
management and measurement; through planning, environmental impact
assessment and investment appraisal; to managing the construction
process to ensure cost effectiveness, transparency and building
quality; and advising on the most efficient use of buildings.
1. Poverty reduction, capacity building and
disaster management: the role of professional skills
Professional skills in land, property and construction
are only just beginning to be fully recognised in these fields.
We would welcome the opportunity to work with the Select Committee
and with DFID to raise awareness of the range of skills on offer;
build local capacity; and promote a wider understanding of the
fundamental importance of a properly functioning land, property
and construction market for any successful or developing economy.
The World Bank has estimated the value of land
and real estate at up to 70% of global wealth. In mature, sophisticated
economies this value is realised and its importance as a mainstay
of any successful economy is recognised. But in poor countries
this value remains locked up—what Hernando de Soto has called
"dead capital." Land ownership may be impossible to
prove in the absence of a proper legal framework or land registration
system. The necessary financial services infrastructure cannot
operate in these circumstances. Even if micro-finance/insurance
could begin to be contemplated, the absence of effective building
control, project management, cost control, international valuation
and measurement standards, etc. deters inward investors. And of
course there would need to be enough trained professionals to
apply these standards.
RICS is making a contribution to the spread
of international professional standards and building local capacity;
but there is much more to be done in some of the poorest countries,
particularly in Africa. We are keen to explore how we could work
with DFID to develop indigenous professional capacity, and with
national and local governments, to help to establish the pillars
of an effective land and built environment sector in such countries.
2. The role of surveyors in relation to urbanisation
and poverty
RICS is a member of the International Federation
of Surveyors (FIG), which has recently published a report entitled
Informal Settlements: The Road Towards More Sustainable Places.[196]
This states that the role of surveyors within informal settlements
is to:
— Facilitate decision making that combines
the economics of land development with the use of land, in a spatial
and social context
— Seek to deliver plots for people to build
their homes.
The report goes on to argue that this can be
achieved by utilising the skills of surveyors to:
— Improve the living environments of people
in informal settlements
— Create the conditions for lasting economic
and social success through partnership working
— Use the most effective methods to achieve
economic and social prosperity
— Build an energetic and open profession
committed to working with others.
Both the FIG report and RICS recognise the fundamental
importance of UN Millennium Development Goal 7, in particular
the need to ensure access to safe drinking water, and generally
bring about an improvement in the lives of slum dwellers.
3. Government action on land use: the pillars
of a successful urban environment
All governments face difficulties in controlling
and changing land use within rapidly expanding cities. Only governments
are able to put in place and provide the basic infrastructure
that will allow cities to flourish. There are six essential actions
for governments:[197]
— Provide a sound legal basis for the ownership
and occupation of property
— Provide accessible means of enforcing
contracts and resolving disputes
— Set up and run land registries to facilitate
and guarantee transfers of property interests
— Establish physical planning and building
regulations to control development and use land for the public
good
— Manage the public sector's own operational
land and property
— Institute and operate a fair land and
property tax system.
Even with such systems in place, as Professor
Saad Yahya FRICS has noted: "While the law and official regulations
are a pre-requisite, enforcement also has to be influenced by
community-led norms and rules of behaviour."[198]
A significant obstacle to effective land use
and housing in many developing countries is the lack of planning,
implementation and management capacities within governments. An
essential part of this system must be the release of a sufficient
amount of land to cope with the housing requirements of an expanding
population within an urban area. However, urbanisation can occur
so quickly that it is difficult to deliver this land. To address
this in the future, governments and communities must work together
to ensure land is available.
If the relevant government does not provide
sufficient land for housing development then demand from population
growth in cities can only be met by informal settlements. Ensuring
there is effective land use planning to provide plots for housing
development should be a central aim for governments in countries
where informal settlement is a problem, and DFID should help to
establish this approach, drawing on professional expertise.
4. Case study: Morogoro, Tanzania
A recent research report carried out by Ardhi
University in Tanzania and funded by the RICS Education Trust
looked at the impact of peripheral land acquisition on indigenous
communities' livelihood in the area around the Uluguru mountains
in Tanzania. The inability of the government to supply a significant
amount of surveyed land for housing development has led to informal
land transactions predominating in the area. This is compounded
by a lack of knowledge and support regarding the legal framework
for property transactions and the prevailing land law.
The report argues that: "Land-related
conflicts were common in most of the study wards and they were
related to competition for the scarce resource, and the failure
of the government to provide enough plots for the growing population.
Conflicts between individuals and the government were related
to disagreement over the implementation provisions of the land
acquisition legislation, which was partly caused by the low education
levels and ignorance of the law of the majority of the people."[199]
5. Effective property rights
One of the consequences of rapid urbanisation
has been that the most vulnerable people in certain societies
have been placed in conflict with formal laws, simply to ensure
their basic survival. It is often assumed that access to informal
settlements is free, but often a fee has to be paid to a middleman
before they can live in a particular area. This person then controls
the settlement and those living there are under constant threat
of eviction.
An effective land registration system can help
people have security without worrying about eviction, and encourage
investment. In many cases land registration in the developing
world covers only 30% of the country.[200]
Without effective controls there is a risk that slum upgrading
will not happen and there may be increased corruption. If societies
become used to working off-register and illegally, it will become
normal practice. To help prevent this happening there must be
an effective system of land registration established, which should
be based around the following three principles:
— Information identifying those people
who have interests in parcels of land.
— Information about those interests eg
nature and duration of rights, restrictions and responsibilities.
— Information about the parcels eg their
location, size, improvements and value.
Rights to the title of a parcel of land will
provide both individuals and businesses with the reassurance they
need to utilise an area and its resources. Land registration can
also give the confidence in security of tenure that is essential
for governments to provide the incentive to poorer communities
to implement effective housing and planning policies.
When looking at land rights it is important
to examine the role of women in the system, as they can be excluded
from ownership through customary rules and laws of inheritance.
While it is important to take into account cultural traditions,
changes to the system must not simply entrench existing inequalities.
Providing women with better access to land can bring economic
and social benefits to families and communities.
DFID should be aiming to help establish land
registration systems in all developing countries, by working alongside
professionals such as chartered surveyors who can provide expert
advice, particularly through the UK Land Registries (which are
already involved in capacity building in some countries) and indigenous
experts.
6. Case study: Capacity building in land administration
in Swaziland
Land registration was a key component of institutional
reform in Swaziland, to increase organisational capacity for land
administration. Before 1995 the UK Government provided long
term support for the Swaziland Surveyor General's Department,
and following his retirement the opportunity was taken for major
reform. This reform was carried out by two expatriate technical
cooperation officers and a number of short term consultancy appointments.
This approach successfully improved the department, and by 1999 it
was able to operate without expatriate assistance.
One of the key outputs of this work was support
for the completion of a cadastral or land registration database,
alongside the implementation of digital map revision systems.[201]
7. Infrastructure development
The haphazard development which characterises
informal settlement often means that it is not connected in to
infrastructure such as water, sewage, roads and public transport.[202]
This can be a particular problem when settlements are located
in unsuitable environments such as hillsides which increase the
cost of infrastructure connections.
Alongside planning for house plots, governments
must also make provision for their connection to infrastructure
in order to improve quality of life. Action must be focused on
providing infrastructure and services to upgrade and regenerate
existing settlements. Upgrading work such as this must involve
the whole community and protect the natural environment. This
type of work must be able to proceed without bureaucratic delays
that can lead to excessive costs.
In many cases infrastructure development has
not been able to keep pace with rapid economic growth or urbanisation.
Closing this infrastructure gap now needs to be a priority for
action. Costs of infrastructure development will act as a barrier
to this work taking place. It may be the case that the public
sector cannot necessarily be relied upon to supply and maintain
this infrastructure and better use could be made of private capital
and management skills. The growth of Public Private Partnerships
as a tool for private sector investment could help increase the
provision of energy, pipelines, telecommunications and water.
Both the public and private sectors in the UK
have experience of working with PPPs and PFI, and this experience
could be shared globally. Both DFID and UK Trade and Investment
could provide assistance, and construction firms and banks from
the UK could be involved in any arrangements.
8. Case study: Water Supply in Gaza
The supply of water is essential, and achieving
this effectively is an enduring issue in all parts of the world.
Areas with little rainfall, low water tables and high temperatures
face particular problems which can be made worse by difficult
economic, social and political conditions. Research carried out
for RICS[203]
has examined the use of treated effluent to recharge natural water
supplies and supply water for irrigation. This has been happening
in Gaza since 2000 and has allowed the Palestinian Water
Authority (PWA) to free up much needed natural water for human
consumption.
The research shows that Gaza uses around 164 million
m3 of water per year but total supply to the aquifer from
which it draws most of its water is only 122 million m3,
a shortfall of around 42 million m3 per year. Wastewater
recycling could add 60 million m3 per year, according
to the PWA. This water can be provided for irrigation more cheaply
than other sources of water, benefitting the farmers that use
it. The cost of 1 m3 is $0.037, compared with the $0.5 that
farmers are currently paying. Farmers questioned for the research
suggested that they would be willing to pay up to $0.14 per
m3.
For the scheme to work more effectively, and
be transferred to other countries, there needs to be adequate
investment in facilities, a reliable source of power, a well trained
workforce and a stable political environment.
9. Ensuring partnership working
If steps to deal with urbanisation and poverty
are to be effective then it will be essential to work with the
communities that will be affected by changes. Stakeholder participation
will be essential at all stages, including design, implementation
and management. One situation where this approach will need to
be taken is when informal settlements are built on traditional
lands. This has the potential to cause conflict between chief
owners or heads of families, and formal legal and administrative
structures. Governments need to establish a dialogue with the
relevant groups on how these two systems can interact, to ensure
that in the future land is fairly released for housing development.
The FIG report Informal Settlements: The Road
Towards More Sustainable Places suggests a number of ways in which
partnership working can be promoted. Steps include:
— Training of local communities and their
leadership on land management activities.
— Assessing householders' potential to
contribute to upgrading costs and the options available to them.
— Establishing the roles and responsibilities
of stakeholders.
— Integrating local, grass-roots institutions
in infrastructure, management and training.
— Bringing together disparate inter-professional
disciplines that contribute to the development of informal settlements.
10. Introducing effective building standards
Many building codes in countries with informal
settlements originated during colonial periods and were often
inappropriate for local environments, particularly in Africa.
In many cases these regulations have remained unchanged.
One of the main barriers to effective building
standards is the private and incremental construction of most
slum housing. If professionals and contractors are not involved
in the process, then there is likely to be less knowledge of standards
and good construction practices. There may also be problems with
enforcement if effective government frameworks are not in place.
Despite these barriers there is a real need
to have some control over the use of materials, to ensure factors
such as health and safety and ecological issues are being considered.
DFID attention should be focused on assisting countries to put
in place building standards which are appropriate to local environments.
These must also take into account how homes are built and look
at what building materials are available locally. Chartered surveyors
could provide expertise to help this process, (and for example,
are currently working on developing building codes in Haiti—see
below.)
10. Disaster management and development—RICS
Commission on Major Disaster Management
Following the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004,
RICS established a Presidential Commission to address how the
surveying profession could do more to help vulnerable communities,
particularly after they had been affected by a disaster. The Commission
comprises chartered surveyors and other built environment professionals
with a wealth of experience in disaster management and international
development. Since then the Commission has advised Governments,
humanitarian NGOs, the World Bank and UN agencies; and has worked
with the World Economic Forum on guidelines for private sector
involvement in humanitarian action.
11. The gap between relief and reconstruction
Reports from chartered surveyors working in
Sri Lanka and other countries hit by the tsunami indicated an
apparent "gap" between the immediate humanitarian relief
phase, and large scale reconstruction. The Commission asked the
University of Westminster to investigate this anecdotal evidence,
and test it against analysis of the experience following earlier
major disasters.
The resulting report "Mind the Gap! Post-disaster
reconstruction and the transition from humanitarian relief"[204]
found overwhelming evidence of a gap—in funding, management
and delivery—between short term, largely effective, humanitarian
relief; and permanent reconstruction, which is "often inefficiently
managed, uncoordinated and slow to get off the ground." Survivors
of major disasters too often spend years in unsatisfactory, temporary
shelters, as the focus of aid, effort and media attention moves
on to the next disaster.
12. Managing the process to build back better
It is axiomatic that disasters hit the poor
hardest. The trauma and continuing risks faced by survivors are
hugely increased by the world's lack of a framework for managing
the disaster cycle. One of the few good things to come out of
disasters is the opportunity to "build back better".
In the context of slums, it is a catastrophic method of "slum
clearance", but nevertheless provides a golden opportunity
to improve living conditions and the safety of millions. But that
opportunity is too often missed, or comes too late for the affected
communities. Aid is often wasted through a lack of professional
project and cost management. The University of Salford is about
to publish a generic Disaster Management Process Protocol[205]
(Consultative Draft attached) which we hope will improve the effectiveness
of disaster risk reduction and recovery, including long term reconstruction,
and take full advantage of opportunities to build back better,
and for local capacity building.
We have learned from extensive discussions with
various UN agencies, the World Bank, and major charities, that
built environment skills are too little recognised in the disaster
management world, and they have asked for the assistance of our
Commission, our profession and the other built environment professions
with whom we work closely, to help at both a strategic planning
level, and on the ground. We have produced, in conjunction with
other professional bodies in the sector, a guide to the built
environment professions in disaster risk reduction and response,
for humanitarian agencies.[206]
13. BuildAction
The RICS BuildAction initiative, which has just
been launched, places built environment projects for disaster
response and risk reduction with member firms who supply professional
services pro bono to the humanitarian sector organisation or government
funding the project. Current and planned BuildAction projects
include:
— Working with the Mumbai Municipality
and the World Bank-funded Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative
on a Disaster Management Plan to protect Mumbai's 15 million
inhabitants;
— a chartered quantity surveyor working
on a key project for DFID on Construction Sector Transparency;
— a working group of RICS members in the
Caribbean addressing the lack of building codes in disaster-prone
Haiti;
— a cost and production feasibility analysis
of low cost, low carbon building blocks to reduce disaster risk
in Uganda (with The Good Earth Trust);
— supporting UNICEF's global initiative
on risk reduction through its Safer Schools programme, with a
pilot project in Rwanda.
Other examples of chartered surveyors working
on a variety of projects covering international aid, development
and disaster recovery include disaster recovery work for DFID
in Monserrat, a school construction project in Khartoum, a UN
Habitat review of tribal and colonial land rights in East Africa,
and mapping refugee camps in Gaza.
We have held discussions with DFID on various
aspects of this work, and would welcome opportunities to further
this relationship.
196 http://www.fig.net/pub/figpub/pub42/figpub42_A4_web.pdf Back
197
Land and Property Economics report for RICS Foundation and the
UN ECE Real Estate Advisory Group, 2000, Supported by the World
Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Back
198
Unmaking the slums: emerging rules, roles and repertoires, Saad
S. Yahya, Stetson Law Review, 2006. Back
199
The impact of peripheral urban land acquisition on indigenous
communities' livelihood and environment around Uluguru mountains
Tanzania, Moses Mpogole and Sophia Kongela, Ardhi University,
RICS Education Trust http://www.rics.org/Newsroom/Researchandreports/Researcharchive/mpogole_160309_research.html Back
200
Improving Access to Land and Shelter, Clarissa Augustinus, UN
Habitat, 2009 http://www.fig.net/pub/fig_wb_2009/papers/nxt/nxt_augustinus.pdf Back
201
Building Institutional and Organisational Capacity for Land Administration,
Iain Greenway MRICS, FIG 2009. Back
202
Coping with Rapid Urban Growth, David Satterthwaite, RICS Leading
Edge Series, RICS 2002. Back
203
Opportunities and obstacles in artificially recharging groundwater
with effluent: a case study of Gaza, Sami Hamdan, Palestinian
Water Authority, RICS FiBRE Series http://www.rics.org/NR/rdonlyres/7930334E-214B-42D3-8838-4ECD6EA3D343/0/Theuseofeffluenttorechargegroundwater.pdf Back
204
Lloyd-Jones, Max Lock Centre, University of Westminster. RICS,
2006 The Commission. Back
205
Generic Disaster Management and Reconstruction Process Protocol
(Consultative Guide), University of Salford Research Institute
for the Built and Human Environment, RICS, 2009. Back
206
The Built Environment Professions in Disaster Risk Reduction and
Response-a guide for humanitarian agencies, Max Lock Centre, University
of Westminster, 2009. Back
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