Barbados Modernizes Land Administration with Geospatial Technology

The development of an accurate and reliable parcel fabric is paramount for enabling commerce in developing nations, such as Barbados. A parcel fabric is a comprehensive digital representation of land parcel, property boundaries, and ownership information.

In 2018, the Government of Barbados (GoB) launched the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) Plan, aimed at revitalizing the economy to achieve stability, sustainable growth, and inclusivity, while also protecting the financial and social sectors. A key component of the BERT Plan involved transforming the government into a more modern and efficient entity by utilizing information and communications technology (ICT) to improve productivity, streamline business processes, and enhance customer service.

As part of these reforms, the government embarked on modernizing its land administration by developing a national cadastre, known as the National Digital Parcel Fabric (NDPF). Several entities collaborated on the NDPF, including the Ministry of Industry, Innovation, Science, and Technology (MIST); the Lands and Surveys Department; and Esri partner Martin Newby Consulting Ltd (MNC). Through this collaboration, all active land tax parcels as of August 2022 were mapped or accounted for.

Utilizing the highest quality source data and precise survey controls, over 124,000 unique tax parcels were integrated into a unified system using Esri’s ArcGIS Parcel Fabric in ArcGIS Pro. The parcel fabric model underwent rigorous quality assurance checks to ensure its reliability and consistency. As a sustainable component of Esri’s Parcel Fabric management software suite, this comprehensive and dependable fabric allows the Lands and Surveys Department of Barbados and their geographic information system (GIS) resources to effectively manage parcels. These parcels form a foundational data layer that can be shared among land-related state agencies. The published fabric serves as the graphical portal for access to land-related documents and land-based e-services, and the recorded parcel data accuracy supports its use as the basis of integration for other GIS datasets. 

The Barbados database and parcel fabric had outgrown its original purpose of being an internal document management system for survey plans. It was being used by several government agencies and decision-makers, which put increasing pressure on the system. Issues arose with the database and the parcel fabric not being able to scale to meet the demands of these sets of users.

In 2022, the Lands and Surveys Department under the Ministry of Housing, Lands, and Maintenance embarked on the NDPF project to reform the Land Information System of Barbados. Previously, the GoB was using a database for parcels in a shapefile format, but over time it became inconsistent, unorganized, and unreliable. The creation of the NDPF addressed the various topological issues of the previous system. The issues included overlaps and gaps in the parcel shapes and accuracy issues where the parcel shapes did not match those shown on recorded survey plans. Additionally, it addressed the Lands and Surveys Department’s challenges in maintaining complete records to fulfill its mandate and serve internal and external customers.

The goal of the NDPF project was to create a single, complete, trusted, and sustainable digital cadastre for Barbados. The parcel fabric dataset is intended to serve multiple foundational roles. Firstly, it acts as a fundamental layer that supports the delivery of land-based electronic services. Secondly, it provides a base layer for the integration of various national land information datasets. Lastly, this dataset contributes to the creation of a Land Information Platform, which is central to supporting the GoB’s policies concerning economic development and social improvement through land and housing.
 

MNC created a comprehensive and sustainable digital cadastre for GoB. The cadastre was created using Esri’s ArcGIS Parcel Fabric in ArcGIS Pro. The completed parcel fabric encompasses the entirety of the island, accounting for over 124,000 unique land tax parcels.

By leveraging their inclusion in Esri’s Land Administration Modernization Program (LAMP), which is designed to help provide GIS tools and training for resource-constrained countries, Barbados officials made the decision to build their new data model on Parcel Fabric.
 

MNC and the GoB had to work together to rebuild the entire parcel fabric system from the ground up; they could not just transfer their existing data because of the problems with their existing dataset. These challenges included poor parcel alignment compared to the actual boundaries, the lack of mapped land subdivisions, and the absence of bearings and distances.

MNC provided a range of services to assist GoB staff in updating their land administration system. These services included the vectorization of scanned survey plans using appropriate methodologies, such as coordinate geometry and heads-up digitization of georeferenced scans, which were enhanced with land valuation and tax records.

Additionally, MNC helped to index land parcels in a database, assigning each parcel with a unique and well-described parcel reference number. They also ensured the parcel fabric was topologically correct, adhering to the standards set by Esri’s parcel fabric data model for ArcGIS Pro. MNC also offered training services to the Barbados team, so they could maintain and update the parcel fabric. Lastly, they developed high-level requirements for a future Online Plan Checking and Submission tool.

By establishing ArcGIS Parcel Fabric, the Government of Barbados is now better equipped to promote transparency, property rights, and economic growth. Through the government's newly organized and streamlined system, as of 2024, all 127,000 of their land parcels are now mapped and assigned parcel IDs, while land tax numbers are also accounted for. This gives the citizens of Barbados confidence in their property rights, causing them to be more likely to invest and develop their land, which contributes to economic development and poverty reduction.

Benefits extend beyond citizens’ individual access. For example, urban planners are now more informed about land use and infrastructure development. Tax authorities can now more fairly assess property values. Land dispute resolutions are now much simpler. Credit is now more accessible by using land as collateral. Foreign land investment and trade is now more attractive, and rural development along with infrastructure projects can more easily be equitably planned, which cuts project costs and delays.