The Turkish cadastral information system and lessons learned

The Turkish land registration and cadastre works were carried out in analog format until 1985. After that, the cadastre works have been performed in a digital environment, while the land registries continued to be sustained in analog format. The subsequent developments in geographical information system technologies and increasing user demands suggested the need to combine land registry and cadastre data in an information system framework at the beginning of the 1990s. The need was addressed a decade later with the Turkish Land Registry and Cadastre Information System (TAKBIS) project. During the implementation of the TAKBIS project, a lot of experience and knowledge have been gained. This paper introduces the background of the project along with a summary of the current Turkish cadastral system, outlines the aims, scope and constitution process of the TAKBIS, and concludes with the experiences gained during the project implementation.