Tenure arrangement, cadastral survey system, and land valuation

Abstract

Riau Islands Province of Indonesia poses a land administration challenge due to its marine setting and culturally rooted coastline settlements. The settlements rapid growth, intricate administration, unclear rights and their spatial realization, and the absence of appropriate valuation frameworks has compounded tenure insecurity in coastal areas. The insecurity leads to overlapping claims and disputes, as well as undermines effective taxation and investment. Academics have underscored the importance of crafting context-specific solutions by considering the important role of people, governance, and technology. Strengthening tenure security in coastal areas is not only a national priority under Indonesia's Agrarian Reform program but also aligns with international agendas such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration approach, and FAO's Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Tenure Governance. The aim of this thesis is to develop and assess the tailored solutions to obtain legal, spatial, and value-based certainty for strengthening tenure security of aquatic lands in coastline settlements.<br/> First, a specially designed tenure arrangement was developed to define optimal tenure forms that are compliant with legal frameworks, community needs, spatial plans, and the unique physical characteristics. Using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (Fuzzy TOPSIS), the study identified five otimal tenure forms: hak pakai (Right of Use), hak guna bangunan (Right to Build), Surat Keterangan Tanah (Possession Letter), Hak komunal (Communal Right) and Numpang Bangun (NB system). These forms reflect a hybrid tenure system that acknowledges both statutory and customary rights. The framework also accounts for spatial constraints and physical conditions to guide more sensitive tenure allocation, including the identification of rights, restrictions, and responsibilities. This finding suggests the recognition of hybrid tenure for the system in securing tenure and reflecting the diverse ways tenure forms are managed in practice. Second, in addressing spatial certainty, the thesis assessed the application of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for cadastral boundary mapping. Two semi-automatic methods—Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) and Mapflow.AI (Mask R-CNN)—were used to delineate building footprints as one of the proxies for parcel boundaries. OBIA consistently demonstrated higher accuracy in completeness, correctness, and quality. We found that both methods struggled in areas with dense, irregularly shaped buildings; and performed better in more distinct and water-locked building clusters where buildings are clearly separated by roads or bodies of water. By evaluating these methods' applicability to different areas and building types, the study offers guidance on implementing image-based techniques for spatially securing tenure. These findings support the viability of UAV-based methods as cost-effective and purposively accurate tools for spatially defining tenure. Third, the study developed a context-specific, GIS parcel-based hedonic mass land valuation. Economic, legal, and physical-environmental attributes were identified through literature and field observations, with the latter factor shown to be the most relevant value factors in coastline settlements. A comparison-score method was used to calculate land value, followed by multiple regression analysis to validate model robustness. Although there may be some unexplained variability remaining, the results exhibit a strong explanatory capacity and offer reliable land value information. <br/> This thesis concludes that the strategies developed through hybrid-tenure arrangements, UAV-based semi-automatic cadastral boundary generation systems, and adaptive valuation models offer promising and complementary solutions. They demonstrate the potential multidimensional security services to address tenure insecurity in the aquatic land settlements of the Riau Islands Province.