Mapping Land for Peace: How Colombia’s Digital Cadastre is Redrawing Rights and Rebuilding Trust

Bogotá, Colombia — “To build peace, we must first map the truth.”— Carolina Piñeros, National Land Agency (ANT)

Colombia's digital cadastre is considered essential to rural reform and land restitution efforts (under the 2016 peace agreement with the FARC) - enabling long-term stability and economic recovery.

Colombia’s long conflict left behind more than memories of violence — it left a fractured land system, where millions of rural parcels exist without legal title, coordinates, or cadastral records. In many areas, no one knew who owned what, or where boundaries lay.

Now, the government’s ambitious Multipurpose Cadastre Program is transforming how land is mapped, owned, and governed — using geospatial technology to support both post-conflict justice and economic development.

From Absence to Accuracy

Launched in 2020 and backed by the World Bank, USAID, and the European Union, Colombia’s new cadastre aims to map 100% of rural land by 2026. That means updating or creating records for over 3 million parcels, especially in regions most affected by displacement and guerrilla conflict.

Using drones, satellite imagery, and participatory mapping, teams are now registering land in areas once unreachable — like Caquetá, Putumayo, and parts of the Pacific Coast.

“We’re not just collecting data — we’re building trust,” says Laura Sánchez, field coordinator with the IGAC (Geographic Institute Agustín Codazzi). “For many campesinos, this is the first time the state has shown up with maps instead of guns.”

Mapping for Justice

The stakes are high. Decades of war displaced over 8 million Colombians. Many fled without documents. Others returned to find their land occupied or contested.Under Colombia’s 2016 peace agreement with the FARC, rural reform and land restitution are cornerstones of long-term stability. But those goals require accurate, accessible data.

“Without a cadastre, we can’t redistribute land or resolve claims,” says Rodrigo Jiménez, a legal advisor at Colombia’s Land Restitution Unit. “It’s the foundation for everything — from investment to justice.”

Open Data, Closed Gaps?

The new cadastre is designed to be multi-purpose — not just for tax collection, but also for planning, conservation, and land use regulation. It integrates open geospatial data platforms, allowing communities, investors, and state agencies to align decisions.

However, concerns remain. Indigenous and Afro-Colombian leaders warn that mapping without prior consent could open the door to dispossession or exploitation, particularly in biodiverse regions like Chocó or the Amazon.

To address this, the government has launched “mapping with rights” protocols, requiring Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) in collective territories — and embedding human rights lawyers in cadastral teams.

Innovation with Limitations

Technological innovation has driven progress, but challenges remain. Many areas lack electricity or internet. The state still struggles with inter-agency coordination. And legal bottlenecks — like unresolved inheritance claims — delay titling.

Nevertheless, over 1.2 million parcels have now been digitized. And in places like Tumaco, women’s cooperatives are using GPS and tablets to lead their own surveys.

“The map has always belonged to someone else. Now it’s ours too,” says Marlene Guerrero, community mapper and land rights activist.

Cartography for Peace

Experts see Colombia’s digital cadastre as a global model — showing how land administration can serve both economic recovery and social healing.

“This isn’t just a technical reform — it’s a peace process with coordinates,” notes Ana María Duarte, a UN-Habitat advisor working in the Llanos region.

As the state redraws lines and formalizes rights, Colombians are discovering that mapping the land also means mapping a new future.