The Centre of Registers taking over the Forest Cadastre in Lithuania

The Centre of Registers, which maintains key national registers and information systems in Lithuania, has become the Data Processor of one more state system. On 1 January 2024, the Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania came into force and the Centre of Registers became the Data Processor of the State Cadastre of Forests of the Republic of Lithuania.

“The Centre of Registers has been maintaining the Real Property Cadastre and Register for many years where all basic data on the buildings and land parcels in the country is stored. Until the beginning of this year, information on forest land that could be found in separate state cadastres differed, areas of forests did not match, causing various problems and difficulties. After consolidating land parcel and forest data in one place, decision-making on the harmonisation of information in future will be possible. Therefore, the accuracy, relevance and reliability of data will be increased," says Kazys Maksvytis, Director of Registers Management at the State Enterprise Centre of Registers.

According to the Director of Registers Management, the Centre of Registers will make use of its experience in the management of cadastres and digitise the processes of preparation, registration and provision of data of the State Cadastre of Forests to customers. This will ensure a simpler and quicker access to and provision of all necessary information about the forests in the country.

Data to the State Cadastre of Forests is provided by forest managers (owners), persons performing state forest parcel inventory, developers of internal forest management projects, persons who initiated or organised the conversion of forest land into other lands (exceptional cases are provided for in the Law on Forests), specialists of the Environmental Protection Department and the State Forest Service.

The State Cadastre of Forests of the Republic of Lithuania is a specialised state cadastre established for accounting of forest land in the country and the management of forest data. The Forest Cadastre covers a whole set of data on Lithuanian forests, their ownership, quantity and quality of forest resources and economic value. It was established in 2003, and the Ministry of Environment is the Data Controller of the Forest Cadastre.

At present, more than 2 million hectares of forest land and almost 1.9 million forest inventory parcels are registered in the State Cadastre of Forests. This makes almost a third of the country’s territory.

The State Enterprise Centre of Registers creates and develops registers and information systems of national importance, processes their data and provides it to the data recipients. Currently, the Centre of Registers maintains 12 cadastres and registers of national importance (Real Property Cadastre and Register, Forest Cadastre, Register of Legal Entities, Population Register, Address Register, etc.) and 12 state information systems (Bailiffs’ Information System, e-Health, e-Delivery, e-Invoice, etc.).

 

EuroGeographics announces new Chair for Quality Knowledge Exchange Network

Jonathan Holmes, Data Management Lead, Ordnance Survey, congratulates Karin Mertens, Quality Control Manager, National Geographic Institute on becoming new Chair of EuroGeographics Quality Knowledge Exchange Network (QKEN).

EuroGeographics has named data quality expert, Karin Mertens from National Geographic Institute (NGI), Belgium as Chair of its Quality Knowledge Exchange Network (QKEN). 

Karin is Quality Control Manager at NGI. She succeeds Jonathan Holmes, Data Management Lead, Ordnance Survey, who has held the role since 2015.

The expert group is part of the extensive knowledge exchange programme organised by the not-for-profit membership association for the European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities.

Carol Agius, Head of Representation and Stakeholder Engagement, EuroGeographics said: “Karin has extensive experience and expertise in ensuring the usability of geospatial data. We are delighted to welcome her as Chair of our quality expert group and would like to thank Jonathan for his committed leadership in its development over the last eight years.”

“As the national authorities for official geospatial information in Europe, high quality and reliability is the calling card of EuroGeographics members.The QKEN enables them to share expertise and best practice to ensure that their data continues to be trusted and the implementation of new technology does not impact on quality.”

“Our discussions also focus on ways to bring together data from multiple sources to ensure seamless, high-quality datasets and communicate the quality, relevance and content to users, in particular through the Open Maps For Europe 2 (OME2) Project. OME2 will develop a new production process and technical specification for free-to-use, edge-matched data under a single open licence.”

EuroGeographics is an international not-for-profit organisation (AISBL/ IVZW under Belgian Law. BCE registration: 833 607 112) and the membership association for the European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities.

The OME2 project is co-funded by the European Union. It is being delivered by a consortium comprising: EuroGeographics, the not-for-profit membership association for Europe’s National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registration Authorities; National Geographic Institute, Belgium; National Institute of Geographic and Forest Information, France; Hellenic Cadastre; General Directorate for the Cadastre, Spain; and Cadastre, Land Registry and Agency, The Netherlands.

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.

Open Maps For Europe was co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility of the European Union and ended in 2022. It was coordinated by EuroGeographics, the voice of European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registration Authorities, in partnership with the National Geographic Institute (NGI) Belgium.

EuroGeographics announces new Senior Management Team

EuroGeographics has announced a new Senior Management Team as part of its continued commitment to enable easy access to official pan-European geospatial data and expertise.

The Brussels-based not-for-profit organisation represents the European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities.

The Senior Management Team, led by Secretary General and Executive Director, Sallie Payne-Snell, now comprises: Head of Representation and Stakeholder Engagement, Carol Agius; Head of Partnerships and Sustainability, Angela Baker; and Head of Finance and Administration, Paolo Ferraresi.

Sallie Payne-Snell said: “I am fortunate to lead a Head Office team with an in-depth understanding of the technological, legislative and operational challenges and opportunities facing members. By combining their professional knowledge, experience and expertise, they are committed to enabling a data-driven society empowered by the use of trusted maps, geospatial and land information from official sources.”

“I look forward to working with Carol, Angela and Paolo, each of whom bring skills that will contribute to our aim of enabling access to members’ high-value data and expertise for the public good.”

“Indeed, EuroGeographics and its members are already delivering high-value pan-European data through the Open Maps for Europe interface. We look forward to building on this success through the OME2 project, which is co-funded by the European Union and responds to user needs for large-scale open data.”

Head of Representation and Stakeholder Engagement, Carol Agius is responsible for activities within the European and global institutions, as well as an extensive knowledge exchange programme for members. In addition, she provides the Secretariat for the European regional committee of experts for global geospatial information management – UN-GGIM: Europe through EuroGeographics Service Level Agreement with The Netherlands’ Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency.

Carol is a geospatial professional with extensive international experience underpinned by practical expertise in policy development and implementation, and high-quality data production. She has two MScs, one in Strategic Quality Management and another in GIS, is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and a Chartered Geographer (GIS).

As Head of Partnerships and Sustainability, Angela Baker is responsible for data strategy and ensuring the EuroGeographics vision to facilitate access to members’ data continues to be realised in a way that ensures long-term sustainability.

Angela has extensive experience in harmonising data and licensing to overcome barriers to use and transform policy into practical action. She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a Chartered Geographer, and has an MSc in Cartography and GIS.

Head of Finance and Administration, Paolo Ferraresi ensures compliance with fiscal and regulatory requirements. In addition to managing the Association’s finances, he has overall responsibility for HR and administrative activities.

Paolo brings broad experience in all aspects of financial management, including European projects and funding mechanisms. He has a Master’s Degree in Political Science, and has Diplomas in Business Administration and Management, and European Studies.

EuroGeographics is an international not-for-profit organisation (AISBL/ IVZW under Belgian Law. BCE registration: 833 607 112) and the membership association for the European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities.

The OME2 project is co-funded by the European Union. It is being delivered by a consortium comprising: EuroGeographics, the not-for-profit membership association for Europe’s National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registration Authorities; National Geographic Institute, Belgium; National Institute of Geographic and Forest Information, France; Hellenic Cadastre; General Directorate for the Cadastre, Spain; and Cadastre, Land Registry and Agency, The Netherlands.

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.

Open Maps For Europe was co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility of the European Union and ended in 2022. It was coordinated by EuroGeographics, the voice of European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registration Authorities, in partnership with the National Geographic Institute (NGI) Belgium.

Request for Tender – EuroGeographics Website

EuroGeographics is seeking qualified and experienced web development companies to submit proposals for the rebuilding of our website.

We invite interested companies to participate in a competitive tender process to help us enhance our online presence.

Interested companies should submit their proposals by the 5th of February.

 

Request for Tender

 

For inquiries and submission of proposals, please contact Alina Talipova

Thank you for your interest in working with us.

Copernicus Services: Contributing to the new European baseline for monitoring Land Cover and Land Use

As one of the Entrusted Entities implementing the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS), the European Environment Agency (EEA) is developing the CLC+ Suite of products.

Authoritative data from National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registration Authorities is important input to the CLC+ Backbone (the geospatial component of the CLC+ Suite of products) to complement the production and updating of satellite-data derived land cover data.

“We are delighted to provide data for CLC+ which plays a vital role in supporting key EU policy needs, as well as specific requirements for stakeholders in EU Member States. As a member of EuroGeographics, we fully support the partnership with the EEA to further explore solutions for providing full, free, and open access to geospatial data for the Copernicus programme.”

Gunnar Haukur Kristinsson, Director General, National Land Survey, Iceland

Read the full case study.

Season’s Greetings

Wishing Season's Greetings to our members, partners and everyone who contributes to #MapsForEurope.

We look forward to working with you again in 2024 to promote the use, and demonstrate the value of, members' authoritative high value data.

Highlights of 2023

As we come to the end of the year, we are pleased to publish our 2023 Highlights.

In 2023, the Open Maps For Europe 2 (OME2) project, co-funded by the European Union, underpinned our activities as we continued to work with members to:

  • Enable access to official high-value European geospatial data to provide fundamental information about location to find solutions for global challenges.
  • Share expertise and best practice in pan-European data production and its integration into the infrastructures we rely upon as a modern society.
  • Demonstrate the use and value of location to link information and action across national boundaries to benefit people and planet.

Read the 2023 Highlights

Data quality top priority as national providers of geospatial information adopt pragmatic approach to AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an opportunity to improve efficiency but data quality must be maintained to ensure accuracy is not compromised, say national providers of geospatial information.

More than half of the participants in third joint EuroGeographics – EuroSDR workshop said they were testing AI, or confirmed its small scale or moderate use within their organisations. They also identified machine learning as the most relevant technology for their activities, and cited security and accuracy as key issues that AI policy frameworks should consider.

“There is no doubt that AI is a technological game changer, indeed the majority of delegates agreed that it is inevitable that they would be using it extensively in the near future,” said Carol Agius, Head of Representation and Stakeholder Engagement, EuroGeographics which represents Europe’s National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities (NMCAs).

“As trusted providers of official geospatial information, the challenge for our members is to balance efficiency benefits with measures to ensure the continued accuracy, high quality and reliability of their data. Our discussions show that they are taking a prudent and pragmatic approach to the use of AI rather than falling for the hype.”

Joep Crompvoets, Secretary General of EuroSDR added: “The workshop’s discussions show that AI is not a silver bullet but a complimentary tool for the traditional methods used by NMCAs. To gain maximum benefit, they should invest in and use the technology by adopting a culture of GeoAI throughout their organisation.”

The 2023 workshop was organised by not-for-profit organisations, EuroGeographics, and EuroSDR, the European Spatial Data Research network that links NMCAs with Research Institutes and Universities.

It continued the conversation of AI within the context of NMCAs from events held in 2021 and 2022, and brought together producers, users, academia and software suppliers to debate spatial data quality, with a particular focus on the impact of new technologies.

Presentations are available here.

EuroGeographics is an international not-for-profit organisation (AISBL/ IVZW under Belgian Law. BCE registration: 833 607 112) and the membership association for the European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities.