Digitalization of domestic cadastral maps is increasing the pace

Prague - The digitalization of domestic cadastral maps is accelerating. Last year, the Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre (CÚZK) digitized 2.5 times more land than in 2008. However, the office did not meet its plan to digitize 955 cadastral territories last year. In reality, it digitized 763 maps, as determined by ČTK from the CÚZK's annual report for 2009.
    From 2004 to 2007, the pace of digitalization decreased due to a reduction in staff. Last year, however, cadastral offices gained an additional 300 new employees who participated in the map conversion. "Their performance could not fully manifest in 2009 due to the gradual onboarding, which, along with a significant failure to complete the land adjustments plan, had the greatest impact on the fact that the increase in the number of digitized cadastral territories in 2009 did not reach the planned 955 territories," states the annual report.
    Out of a total of 13,027 cadastral territories in the Czech Republic, nearly six percent were digitized last year. This is the strongest increase in the last ten years, despite not meeting the original intention. "Attention continued to be focused on cadastral maps in urban areas and larger municipalities, where higher quality data is generally available, more real estate market transactions occur, and development plans are implemented," stated the office. Digitalization of cadastral maps in such locations is, however, more time-consuming than in rural areas.
    At the end of last year, maps for 5,739 cadastral territories were available in digital form, which is more than 44 percent of the total number. The rest of the territories are currently covered only in the form of scanned cadastral maps, which, compared to digital maps, do not allow the current state of the cadastre to be displayed on the internet.
    According to CÚZK, digitalization is a necessary step for the effective functioning and management of the land registry. Electronic cadastral maps are a vital resource in land management and decision-making. Their strategic importance lies in the fact that they serve as a basis for the creation of other maps, information systems, and applications relating to the territory. In practice, this includes digital technical maps, zoning plans, pricing maps, monitoring and development of technical and transport infrastructure, or the environment.
    
Development of digitalization of cadastral territories in the Czech Republic:

Year	Digitized	Total in digital form	Annual increase from a total of 13,027 territories	Share of total number
up to 2000	1049	1988	8.1 %	15.3 %
2001	440	2428	3.4 %	18.6 %
2002	453	2881	3.5 %	22.1 %
2003	543	3424	4.2 %	26.3 %
2004	383	3807	2.9 %	29.2 %
2005	314	4121	2.4 %	31.6 %
2006	279	4400	2.1 %	33.8 %
2007	263	4663	2.0 %	35.8 %
2008	313	4976	2.4 %	38.2 %
2009	763	5739	5.9 %	44.1 %