2026 FIG & UNECE WPLA International Conference

LoGRI attended the 2026 FIG & UNECE WPLA International Conference in Istanbul, Türkiye, from October 27-30, 2026.

As digitalization and AI become more widespread in land administration and management, this conference brought together policymakers, government officials, and academics to discuss how these tools can strengthen and modernize cadastral systems, property mapping and valuation techniques, and data management practices, with an emphasis on government ownership and long-term sustainability.

LoGRI Policy Officer Adele Somat participated in a technical session on property valuation, mass appraisal and cadastral integration, leading a presentation on how land administration and property taxation can work together rather than in parallel.

Drawing on LoGRI’s experience across several African countries, her presentation highlighted the advantages of:

• Deploying a coordinated, government-led approach to GIS mapping and establishing common base maps,
• Adopting a “property tax first” rather than a “cadastre first” approach to identifying, mapping and valuing properties, and 
• Stronger data sharing between land administration and tax authorities to keep national land information systems up to date.

The presentation also discussed how we’ve begun to put these principles into practice in a ongoing property tax reform initiative in Ethiopia funded by the Agence Française de Développement and in collaboration with Expertise France, VNG International, and IGN FI.

View the full conference webpage, flyer, and programme here.