G 5 '. CN ■ | 62/4 V GEODETSKI VESTNIK | letn./ Vol. 62 | št. / No. 4 | i sistem upravljanja land parcel i kmetijskih parcel na management system t poljskem ter študija in poland and a case i primera držav članic study of eu member i evropske unije states 9 Agnieszka Trystula, Jadwiga Konieczna UDK: 528.44:63(438) Klasifikacija prispevka po COBISS.SI: 1.04 Prispelo: 12. 6. 2018 Sprejeto: 1. 12. 2018 DOI: ttps://doi.org/10.15292/geodetski-vestnik.2018.04.630-640 PROFESSIONAL ARTICLE Received: 12. 6. 2018 Accepted: 1. 12. 2018 _ IZVLEČEK Sistem LPIS (angl. land parcel identification system) podpira sistem plačil na površino v državah EU v okviru skupne kmetijske politike. To je koristno orodje, ki omogoča pravilno delovanje mehanizma strukturne podpore kmetijstvu. Glavni cilj članka je analiza in ocena sistema upravljanja kmetijskih parcel na Poljskem v okviru rešitev, ki se uporabljajo v EU za namene skupne kmetijske politike. Predmet analize so bile uvedene rešitve na področju sistema LPIS, izhajajoče iz evropskih pravnih in tehničnih specifikacij, še zlasti tistih, ki se nanašajo na sprejeti tip referenčne parcele (kmetijska parcela, katastrska parcela, kmetijski blok, fizični blok, topografski blok). Na podlagi podatkov, med drugim zbranih s posebnim vprašalnikom, so bile opravljene raziskave, povezane s sprejetimi modeli referenčnih parcel v državah in regijah EU, vključno s Poljsko, za obdobje 2006—2016. Raziskovalni vzorec so bili sistemi LPIS, ki so se uporabljali v EU v obravnavanem obdobju. V članku je predstavljeno, kako so se s časom spreminjali uvedeni modeli referenčnih parcel in kaj so bili najpogosteje vzroki za te spremembe. Poljska je ena redkih držav članic EU, kjer je podlaga LPIS vse od leta 2006 uradni register nepremičnin. Sklepi raziskave so podlaga za pripravo sprememb na tem področju na Poljskem. ABSTRACT _ The LPIS (Land Parcel Identification System) supports area-based payment schemes in EU countries under the Common Agricultural Policy and is a useful tool enabling the proper functioning of the structural agriculture support mechanism. This study analyses the agricultural parcel management system in Poland in the context of solutions applied in the EU within the Common Agricultural Policy. The research concerns solutions applied in the field of the LPIS system, arising from European legal and technical specifications, particularly those referring to the adopted type of a reference parcel (agricultural parcel, cadastral parcel, farmers' block, physical block, topographic block). Based on the data originating from LPIS questionnaire interviews, a study was conducted related to the adopted models of reference parcels in the EU countries and regions, including in Poland in the years 2006—2016. The research sample comprised LPIS systems functioning in the EU in the analytical period. In the paper, it is demonstrated how the implemented models of reference parcels had been changing over time and the most frequent reasons of the changes were indicated. Poland is one of few EU Member States in which the Land and Property Register has been the basis for the LPIS since 2006. The conclusions of the research provide a basis for planning of a change in LPIS in Poland. KLJUČNE BESEDE KEY WORDS LPIS, zemljiški informacijski sistem, skupna kmetijska politika, EU, referenčne parcele LPIS, land information system, Common agricultural policy, EU, reference parcel Agnieszka Trystuta, Jadwiga Konieczna | SISTEM UPRAVLJANJA KMETIJSKIH PARCEL NA POLJSKEM TER ŠTUDIJA PRIH | 630 | SYSTEM IN POLAND AND A CASE STUDY OF EU MEMBER STATES | 630-640 | AV ČLANIC EVI JIJE | LAND PARCEL GEODETSKI VESTNIK | 62/4 | 1 INTRODUCTION Introduced in 1962, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a partnership between agriculture and society, between Europe and its farmers. It is a policy common to all European Union (EU) Member States, managed and financed at the European level using the EU's annual budget. The CAP is the oldest EU policy. Its principal objectives have evolved over the years (European Commission, 2014). Currently, the CAP is focused on supporting farmers' incomes in the form of direct payments arising from its policy associated with multi-directional and sustainable development of rural areas (Zadravec and Zalik, 2009). To this end, EU countries establish and maintain an Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) which includes the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) (Montaghi et al., 2013, Zygmunt et al., 2014). The main functions of the LPIS are localisation, identification and quantification of agricultural land via very detailed geospatial data. In order to receive EU support, farmers have to adhere to environmentally-friendly land management requirements, commonly known as cross-compliance (CC) principles. Furthermore, farmers can carry out additional actions to reduce agricultural pressure on the environment or to improve the countryside biodiversity. These are known as agri-environmental measures (AEM) and incur additional monetary support. Management of information on environmentally-compliant land use and agri-environmental measures is the second most important function of IACS/LPIS (Sagris et al. 2013). To date, LPISs in MSs greatly differ in concepts and models of representations and spatial identifications of an agricultural land use unit (Sangris et al. 2008; European Court of Auditors, 2016). Currently, there are LPISs in EU, which reference databases are based on 5 models of reference land plots (parcels), such as an agricultural parcel, a cadastral parcel, a farmers' block, a physical block and a topographic block (JRC D5 - Mars CAPland, 2017). The issue with these different IACSs/LPISs is that there are no standardised structures; rather, each represents a unique design in each MS, both in the case of LAS-based (Land Administration System) or in the case of special systems as described by Inan et al. (2010). Land Administration Systems are a basic tool for the administration of natural resources, physical and economic planning, environmental monitoring and protection and crisis management (Lemmen, 2012). Since May 1, 2004, i.e. since Poland's accession to EU, Polish agriculture and rural areas have been under the Common Agricultural Policy schemes. An area aid scheme has been introduced to include all farmers. The Rural Development Plan and Sectoral Operational Programme have been implemented to support the restructuring and modernisation of the food sector. Aiming to get financial support in agriculture from EU funds, a country needs to ensure appropriate organisational and technical conditions, primarily the establishment of a proper Payment Agency as well as the development and maintenance of an Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS), i.e. an administration and information system enabling efficient distribution and control of financial aid for farmers. The Payment Agency responsible for the management of agricultural grants in Poland is the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture (ARMA), which is involved in the implementation of instruments co-financed from the EU budget (those concerning direct payments) and is responsible for their proper disbursement. It is also an institution, which maintains the Integrated Administration and Control System, including the LPIS. The main aim of the research was to analyse and assess the system of management of cadastral parcels and reference areas in Poland in the context of solutions applied in the EU for the purpose of CAP. The research concerned the solutions applied in the field of the LPIS, arising from European legal and Agnleszka Trystuta, Jadwlga Konieczna | SISTEM UPRAVLJANJA KMETIJSKIH PARCEL NA POLJSKEM TER ŠTUDIJA PRIMERA DRŽAV ČLANIC EVROPSKE UNIJE | LAND PARCEL > SYSTEM IN POLAND AND A CASE STUDY OF EU MEMBER STATES | 630-640 | | 631 | | 62/4 | GEODETSKI VESTNIK technical specifications, particularly those referring to the adopted type of a reference parcel (agricultural != parcel, cadastral parcel, farmers' block, physical block, topographic block). s I 2 MATERIALS AND METHODS g The achievement of the intended goals was based on an analysis of strategic, programme and study docu-¿Í ments, which enabled preparing of conclusions about the system for management of the reference layers g of the LPIS in Poland in the context of the solutions applied in other EU countries. The main motivation was to provide a basis for changes of LPIS in Poland. Based on the data originating from questionnaire interviews concerning the assessment of the quality of LPIS and on data provided by European bodies responsible for maintaining reference land parcel identification systems, a study was conducted related to the adopted models of reference parcels in the EU countries and regions, including in Poland. The research sample included databases for reference parcels of LPISs declared by the Payment Agencies in 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2016 (Table 1). The lack of data concerning the selected model of a reference parcel within the CAP results from the fact that the EU Member States or regions failed to participate in European research into the LPIS. Table 1: Reference databases in EU countries and regions. EU Member State 2006 2008 2010 2016 Austria - CP CP PB Belgium — Flanders AP AP AP AP Belgium — Wallone AP PB PB PB Bulgaria - PB PB PB Croatia - - - FB Cyprus CP CP CP CP Czech Republic FB FB FB FB Deutschland — Baden CP PB PB - Deutschland — Bavaria FB FB FB FB Deutschland — Berlin - - - PB Deutschland — Brandenburg - - - PB Deutschland — Bremen - - - PB Deutschland — Hamburg - - - PB Deutschland — Hessen - AP AP AP Deutschland — Lower Saxony - - - PB Deutschland — North Rhine - Westphalia - PB PB PB Deutschland — Rhineland — Palatinate - CP CP CP Deutschland — Saarland - AP AP AP Deutschland — Rhineland — Saxony -Anhalt - PB PB PB Deutschland — Schleswig - Holstein - - - PB Deutschland — Thuringia - PB PB PB Denmark PB PB PB PB AgnieszkaTrystüta, Jadwiga Konieczna | SISTEM UPRAVLJANJA KMETIJSKIH PARCEL NA POLJSKEMTER STUDIJA PRIMERA DRZAVCLANIC EVROPSKE UNIJE | LAND PARCEL MANAGEMENT | 632 | SYSTEM IN POLAND AND A CASE STUDY OF EU MEMBER STATES | 630-640 | GEODETSKIVESTNIK | 62/4 | EU Member State 2006 2008 2010 2016 Estonia PB PB/FB FB FB Spain CP CP CP CP Finland FB - FB FB France FB FB FB FB Greece PB - PB PB Hungary PB PB PB PB Ireland AP FB TB TB Italy CP CP CP CP Latvia - PB/FB/CP PB PB Lithuania PB PB PB PB Luxemburg AP AP AP PB Malta - FB/AP AP AP Netherlands PB PB PB PB Poland CP CP CP CP Portugal AP FB FB FB Romania - PB PB PB Sweden PB FB FB FB Slovenia FB/GERK FB/ GERK FB/GERK FB Slovakia PB PB PB PB United Kingdom — England AP - TB TB United Kingdom — Scotland AP - TB TB United Kingdom — Wales AP - TB TB United Kingdom — Northen Ireland AP - TB TB Source: own elaboration based on the 2006 and 2008 LPIS Questionnaire, European Court of Auditors and JRC. Legend: AP — Agricultural parcel CP — Cadastral parcel FB — Farmer's block (in Slovenia, Farmer's block used to be divided by land use — GERK; in 2014, the »real« FBwas introduced). named GERK) PB - Physical block TB — Topographical block 3 RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH The LPIS is an IT system based on aerial or satellite imagery recording all agricultural parcels in the Member States. It is a key control mechanism under the CAP designed to verify eligibility for area based subsidies, which amounted to approximately 45.5 billion euro in 2015. The Court's Statement of Assurance (SoA) estimated the level of error for the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) at 2.9 % (2.2 % without cross compliance errors) in 2014. Close to half of the errors were area related. The system also plays an increasing role in checking the compliance with various environmental obligations (European Court ofAuditors, 2016). In order to ensure proper servicing and granting funds, Poland, as a full EU member, was required to establish the Integrated Administration and Control System, including the maintenance of the LPIS, which aim is to enable: Agnieszka Trystuta, Jadwiga Konieczna | SISTEM UPRAVLJANJA KMETIJSKIH PARCEL NA POLJSKEM TER STUDIJA PRIH SYSTEM IN POLAND AND A CASE STUDY OF EU MEMBER STATES | 630-640 | AV CLANIC EVI 1IJE | LAND PARCEL I 633 | | 62/4 | GEODETSKI VESTNIK — unambiguous identification of beneficiaries (register of producers), != — unambiguous identification of a land parcel within the space, and its current area (register of agri-si cultural farms), ^ — verification as regards the eligibility for a particular aid scheme (registration of claims for payments). = In order to develop the LPIS database, it was necessary to create a vector map of the entire country, •Ei containing boundaries of cadastral parcels, outlines of agricultural areas, soil type boundaries and a vector H layer of the so-called managed lands and to develop a digital orthophotos of the country to enable the == identification of the arable lands. These projects were in line with the requirements arising from Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 under which the LPIS shall be established based on cadastral maps, land register documentation, or other cartographic sources. The techniques used are based on a computerised system of geographical information including aerial or satellite orthophotos, using a uniform standard ensuring accuracy at least equal to the accuracy of cartographic mapping at a scale of 1 : 10,000 and since 2016 at a scale of 1 : 5,000, considering the contour and state of the parcel (Regulation EU 1306, 2013). In Poland, the legislator indicated in regulations that a source of data for the establishment of a national system for registration of producers, registration of agricultural farms and registration of payment claims is the Land and Property Register (July, 2011). The Register is defined as an information system ensuring the collection, updating and sharing, in a manner uniform for a country, of information on land, buildings and premises, their owners, and on other entities holding or managing these lands, buildings or premises (Geodetic and Cartographic Law, 1989). The adoption of the Land and Property Register as the basis for the establishment of the LPIS resulted from the following facts: — the Land and Property Register is a system covering the entire territory of the Republic of Poland, maintained in a uniform manner, constantly updated and supervised by state administration bodies, — the data extracted from the system is official, — it contains reference data on parcels, buildings and premises, of which quality and method of acquiring is determined by geodetic and cartographic law, — it is comprised of a descriptive part and cartographic part (cadastral map) representing the boundaries and numbers of cadastral parcels and the boundaries and attributes of agricultural land, — the registration data are legal in nature, — it contains the owner's personal data. The basis for the operation of the LPIS is the reference parcel database. According to the guidelines, a reference parcel includes a spatial unit of land, which is the surface of an agricultural area, i.e. an area occupied by arable land, permanent grassland, and permanent pasture or permanent crops. Each Member State marks out a reference parcel in a manner, which guarantees its measurability, stability over time and the possibility for unique and unambiguous location of each agricultural parcel declared annually. The basis for the establishment of the LPIS in Poland was the system of Land and Property Register, where a cadastral parcel, which is assigned in the system with its unique number, boundaries, determined area, and the marking, land area and boundaries of agricultural land, was adopted as a reference parcel. However, it should be noted that the total area of a cadastral parcel indicated in the Land and Property Register is not an area eligible for the calculation of payments. At the end of 2015, a total of 34,696,000 reference parcels were registered in Poland, including 10,407,689 reference parcels (SAP) and 9,935,315 AgnieszkaTrystüta, Jadwiga Konieczna | SISTEM UPRAVLJANJA KMETIJSKIH PARCEL NA POLJSKEMTER STUDIJA PRIMERA DRZAVCLANIC EVROPSKE UNIJE | LAND PARCEL MANAGEMENT | 634 | SYSTEM IN POLAND AND A CASE STUDY OF EU MEMBER STATES | 630-640 | GEODETSKI VESTNIK | 62/4 | agricultural parcels eligible for payments. A cadastral parcel is a reference, within which boundaries it is necessary to determine the area of agricultural land eligible for direct payments. It should be noted, however, that the definition of agricultural areas eligible for payments, arising from the provision of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, based on which the maximum eligible area is determined, differs from the Polish definition of agricultural areas specified in Regulation of the Minister of Regional Development and Construction on the Land and Property Register, based on which the area of agricultural land is determined in the land and property register system — Table 2. Table 2: Agricultural areas/land use according to EU and Polish regulations. Agricultural land classification according to Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 Agricultural land classification according to Regulation on the Land and Property Register - arable land - orchards - arable land - permanent meadows - permanent grassland - permanent pasture - permanent pasture - developed agricultural land - permanent crops - wooded land and bushland on agricultural land - pond bottoms - land under ditches Source: own study based on law. In accordance with the above-mentioned Regulation, which is also indicated in Table 2, agricultural areas also include developed agricultural land, pond bottoms and ditches. Therefore, the areas of agricultural land specified in the Land and Property Register cannot be directly adopted as reference areas for direct payments within CAP. During the first year of the operation of the LPIS system in Poland, the reference database was primarily the descriptive part of the Land and Property Register. A claim for payment submitted by a farmer contained numbers and the area of cadastral parcels, the area used for agricultural purposes within the boundaries of a cadastral parcel and the attributes and areas of agricultural parcels situated in cadastral parcels. The role of the LPIS was to verify the information provided in the claim against the data concerning the numbers of cadastral parcels and the area of agricultural land within a parcel, which are eligible for payments and contained in the Land and Property Register. Since 2005, apart from descriptive data originating from the Land and Property Register, the identification of agricultural parcels has been additionally carried out based on graphical data, i.e. maps and orthophotos. This refers to a vector cadastral map, which indicates boundaries and numbers of cadastral parcels as well as boundaries and attributes of land use. On the other hand, by the interpretation of ortophotos it is possible to recognise the land cover, and to distinguish forested areas, settlements, roads, waters, ditches, woodlots and shrubs, i.e. land non-eligible for payment. The possibility for graphical visualisation of the area, on which agricultural parcels declared by a farmer are situated, in connection with particular cadastral parcels, makes it possible to note and explain all discrepancies, which affect the amount of payments. Such situations can be encountered in the event of changes in the boundaries of land in use, which have occurred in the field and have not been entered into the Land and Property Register documentation. Agnleszka Trystuta, Jadwlga Konieczna | SISTEM UPRAVLJANJA KMETIJSKIH PARCEL NA POLJSKEM TER ŠTUDIJA PRIMERA DRŽAV ČLANIC EVROPSKE UNIJE | LAND PARCEL > SYSTEM IN POLAND AND A CASE STUDY OF EU MEMBER STATES | 630-640 | | 635 | | 62/4 | GEODETSKI VESTNIK The basis for the proper disbursement of Community funds is an efficiently operating system for land ¡= parcel identification, which should contain accurate, reliable and up-to-date data concerning agricultural ¡e land, and the eligible area of agricultural land should correspond to the actual area. Therefore, a very ^ important aspect of the proper system operation is served by the timeliness of data contained in the Land fE and Property Register as regards cadastral parcels (reference parcels) and land in use, and, in particular, 5 those areas which, under the LPIS, are excluded from payments. In practice, it appeared that the data g acquired from the Land and Property Register were often out-of-date due to the changes continuously S occurring in the spatial arrangements of land resulting from the performed divisions, consolidations, property sale and purchase transactions, or investment processes. For example, a completed process of land consolidation results in a change in the value of land eligible for payment for all parcels within the district. Therefore, it was decided that the best and generally available source for the performance of measurements of the area, and the interpretation as regards land development and use, is a digital orthophoto, which is a basic data source for the performance of measurements and a complex assessment of the eligible area within the reference parcel. The use of an orthophoto to determine the maximum possible area eligible for payment also arises directly from the Community regulations. On the other hand, data from the Land and Property Register will only be used in the field of identification and spatial location of an agricultural parcel (a unique identifier of a cadastral parcel) and the total area of the cadastral parcel. s LPIS operates using GIS technology (Sagris et al., 2008; Grandgirard and Zielinski, 2008; Inan et al., 2010; Sagris et al., 2013). An advantage of the GIS is the possibility to verify whether the parcel declared for payment actually exists and is located in the areas eligible for payments, or whether the area of an agricultural parcel located within a particular cadastral parcel exceeds the area eligible for payments. Such an approach enables the identification of the causes of the discrepancies found and the solution of problems related to the verification of the data provided by the beneficiary against the data contained in the system. In 2016, 44 declared national and regional LPISs operated in 28 Member States. They were based either on one type of a reference parcel (93% of LPISs) or on more than one type ofa reference area, which particularly concerns the countries such as Germany or Belgium (7% of LPISs). Reference parcels are agricultural areas, which are identified based on a unique number. European LPIS databases contain over 135 million reference parcels divided into five models, which include an agricultural parcel, a cadastral parcel, a farmers' block, a physical block and a topographical block. The selection of a reference parcel model in individual countries is determined by numerous factors, including historical background and the natural, cultural, social and economic determinants as well as the adopted legal and technological solutions as regards the operation of IACS. The adopted local agricultural practices are also of significance when selecting a parcel model (Figure 1). Most LPISs are based on models of parcels, which reference area is determined on the basis of either crop boundaries or invariable field elements, e.g. roads or hedges. The LPISs based on the cadastre have specific problems due to the different philosophy of the cadastral parcel (based on ownership) compared to the other LPIS reference parcels (based on land use) (Kay and Milenov, 2006). In the analysed period of2006-2016, the dominant type of a reference parcel in the EU Member States and regions was the physical block (Figure 2), regarded as easy-to-update compared to, for example, a cadastral parcel. This is due to the fact that the reference area of the physical block is based on boundary lines represented in the field by land development structures with no account taken of the legal status, restrictions or obligations. AgnieszkaTrystüta, Jadwiga Konieczna | SISTEM UPRAVLJANJA KMETIJSKIH PARCEL NA POLJSKEMTER STUDIJA PRIMERA DRZAVCLANIC EVROPSKE UNIJE | LAND PARCEL MANAGEMENT | 636 | SYSTEM IN POLAND AND A CASE STUDY OF EU MEMBER STATES | 630-640 | GEODETSKI VESTNIK | 62/4 | - one or more crop groups ■ „ ,J „ ___________ - one or more crop groups - one or more crop groups - one or more farmers rt