Property Rights & Land Titling Project, Lao PDR.

As our Phase 2 draws to a close, plans for various extensions are on the drawing board. Since our last newsletter, LEI has submitted a plan to AusAID for a small restructure of the technical assistance team. This will see all our national adviser positions extended up to the official end of AusAID’s Phase 2, in November 2008. It will also permit some additional international cadastral inputs, to help the TA team to finalise its capacity-building program.

LEI has also prepared a proposal for a short extension of technical assistance to June 2009, to correspond with the official end of the World Bank Phase 2. This will if accepted permit an additional infusion of TA resources to help NLMA and the Department of Lands continue the expansion of land titling into the final three provinces and to plan for the expanded use of computer applications in systematic adjudication teams and land offices.

This month the team welcomed back David McDowell after a three-month stint in the Philippines LAMP project. We also look forward to the return of George Collett this month, to strengthen the project’s M&E capacity. Kate Dalrymple is currently helping our community education team expand its program and educational materials. Daniel Carter will also rejoin us next month, to complete the conversion of all of our systematic adjudication teams to Total Station and GPS. Daniel will also help us take the next steps in effectively using digital survey data.

In this edition we include an item on a recent team-building activity, helping David McDowell with his house-warming.

Provided by Steve McFadzean