Marine Cadastre in the South Atlantic: evolution, situation and perspectives

Abstract

The cadastre is the base of a country's territorial administration system, it contains the register of different interests on the national space, it describes the properties geometrically, interoperating with other registries. It usually covers the continental territory and remains within the legal maritime limit, however, companies and governments need information regarding rights, restrictions and responsibilities also in the marine environment and in its coastal zone. In South America, the administration of these interests has not yet been unified or standardized, much less registered in a geographic information system. In this context, the objective of this study is to contribute to a Marine Cadastre modeling and to develop a prototype of a Marine Information System for its implementation, prior to the availability of a marine spatial data infrastructure. The system was developed under a structure that responds to the needs to systematize information for this type of registration by connecting thematic data to a graphic output to view open data in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. It guarantees interoperability based on the establishment of common standards and could be responsible for the registration and monitoring activities of the marine environment. It was built in JavaScript language (JS), with specific open source libraries for Web Maps, among which are TurfJS, LeafletJS and some specific plugins. The results of this work provide guidelines to establish a relevant legal framework with regard to the design of the institutional structure responsible for a Marine Cadastre under international standards.