The Potential of the Land Administration Domain Model (Ladm) in Addressing Land Management Issues in Bangladesh

Abstract

Land administration in Bangladesh is plagued by institutional fragmentation, corruption, outdated records, and mismanagement of public land, leading to tenure insecurity and protracted disputes. This study assesses the potential of the Land Administration Domain Model (LADM - ISO 19152), an international standard, to address these systemic challenges. Through a qualitative review of academic and grey literature, this article first delineates the core issues within Bangladesh's land sector. It then explores the structure of LADM, focusing on its core packages—Party, Rights-Restrictions-Responsibilities (RRR), and Spatial Unit—and its supporting features like VersionedObject and LA_Source. The analysis demonstrates that LADM's framework for interoperability, legal-spatial integration, and transaction traceability can directly respond to Bangladesh's key land administration problems. The study concludes that while LADM offers a robust technical blueprint for reform, its successful implementation necessitates strong political commitment, legislative harmonization, and comprehensive capacity building to transcend mere digitization and achieve genuine institutional transformation.