The Universal Address System Is Adopted in Somaliland
October 9, 2003 - NAC Geographic Products Inc. of Canada and Cadastral Surveys of Somaliland
proudly announce the initial success in adopting and implementing the Universal
Address System in Somaliland. It represents
the beginning of a new era of using digital universal addresses in the world
and a revolution in all geographic technologies, applications, products and
services.
The Universal Address System and the Natural Area Coding System are a
revolutionary technology developed by NAC Geographic Products Inc. to unify
addresses, postal codes, area codes, geographic
coordinates and map grids in the world. The Natural Area Coding System
generates standardized and highly efficient codes called Natural Area Codes
(NAC) for all locations and areas in the world that can be used as geographic
coordinates, Universal Addresses, Global Postal Codes, Universal Area Codes and
the coordinates of Universal Map Grids in the world. A two-character NAC
represents an area about 1000x700 km (like a province) anywhere in the world; a
four-character NAC represents an area about 33x23 km (like a city); a
six-character NAC represents an area about one square kilometer (like a street
block); an eight-character NAC represents an area about 35x25 meters (like a
building or house), and a ten-character NAC can specify any one square meter
area in the world. An Eight or ten character NAC is called a Universal Address
that can uniquely specify any building, house, door, gate, fire hydrant, tree,
parking meter, electric wire pole, street light, bus stop, sewage exit, camping
site, or any other fixed object in the world.
Because Universal Addresses are very short, people can easily remember and
communicate Universal Addresses for their daily activities. Universal Addresses
can perfectly fit the small spaces of business cards, GPS watches, GPS
cellphones, parking tickets, yellow page listings, advertisements, etc. A
Universal Address can be directly pinpointed on all maps with Universal Map
Grids and navigated with GPS receivers. If all street signs are marked with
local Universal Addresses, people can immediately figure out the distance and
direction from the current street sign to any destination through the
comparison of the Universal Addresses of the street sign and the destination.
Universal Addresses can be used as Global Postal Codes to sort all domestic and
international mail automatically and optimize its delivery routes. When
Universal Addresses are used to specify locations and areas on location based
services can
- reduce
80% of input keys,
- avoid
difficulties in inputting addresses with foreign characters,
- eliminate
errors from address databases,
- extend services to all locations no matter whether
there are addresses or not.
These advantages have been demonstrated by the world most
efficient and comprehensive location based services: Mobile Location Based
Services Network (http://mlbs.net/) for wireless
devices, and TravelGIS Driving
Directions Service (http://www.travelgis.com/directions/)
for desktop and notebook computers.
Most importantly, the Natural Area Coding System can make
all the geographic information (all addresses in the world as shown on business
cards, mail, advertisements, yellow pages, etc, all kinds of maps in different
scales and projections, all GPS watches, GPS cellphones, handheld GPS receivers,
etc, all wired and wireless driving directions services, map services, location
based searching service, etc, all postal, courier, delivery and taxi services,
all emergency services, all kinds of geographic information systems such as
management systems of public works, natural resources, agriculture, environment
protection, etc, and all other location related technologies, products and
services) directly related and highly efficient. It will remove all the gaps
between all these technologies, products and services as currently shown
everywhere in the world. "This (the Universal Address System) is an elegant
solution that seems to supply something that is becoming necessary as the world
becomes more globalized." - Matt Ball,
editor of GeoWorld magazine. For more information
about the Universal Address System and the Natural Area Coding System, please
check http://www.nacgeo.com/nacsite/.
Tasks where the Universal Address System is being
successfully practiced include a unique method of bringing farmers, warring
over privately-owned territorial rights, to peaceful coexistence. That
country is in the Horn of Africa, known as Somaliland (south of the Gulf of Aden).
"UNDP (United Nations Development Program) is supporting a land survey (cadastral) that seeks
to meet the need for land and collateral, and employs a process that is
conflict resolving in character. The process is transparent and
participatory and based on the resolution of existing and potential claim
disputes. It has traditional, local level, consensus building and
mediation techniques to ensure a fair process of land tenure and titling,
involving demarcation, on maps and on the ground, of the boundaries of private
farms.” - United Nations Secretary-General's Report to the Security Council
on the situation in Somalia, June 27, 2002 (No. 5/2002/709).
Cadastral Surveys, an officially registered Non Government Organization in
Somaliland and the United Kingdom, is establishing farm boundaries
which are mutually agreed by neighboring farmers. Universal Addresses at each of the farms'
polygon turning points and polygon center in the District of Gabiley are included on Farmers’ ID cards thanks to the
short strings of Universal Addresses. The Universal Addresses are also
marked on the ground by embedded concrete blocks, and repeated in databases.
Farmers now have legal title deeds from Somaliland's
Ministry of Agriculture. Outbreaks of violence over territorial rights
have ceased in surveyed areas. 2,600 farms, averaging 12 acres each, have been
surveyed and mapped. Each farm owner is in possession of a technical laminated
ID card.
Farmers in that country are now enjoying peace because of
security of tenure where they had none before, even in colonial times.
This was because their rain-fed farms, between 8 and 50 acres each, growing
maize and sorghum, had no boundaries for generations and therefore no title
deeds.
"When I was
growing up, there were many land problems. No one knew the boundaries
before these surveys. It was dangerous - some people were killed.I
plan to pass my farm on to my children's children," said Mohamed Hassan Obsiye, a 66-year-old
sorghum farmer. Somaliland now wisely gives
farmers land ownership in perpetuity (freehold) after surveying, when maps and
databases have been completed to the satisfaction of the Ministry of
Agriculture.
"This project
involves farmers, their neighbors, as well as local and municipal authorities,
all of whom agree on this process. You can see that what the United
Nations Development Program is doing here is helping to build peace, one farm
at a time" said Maxwell Gaylard, UNDP
Resident Representative for Somalia. "When we were in need, farmers
coming back from refugee camps, UNDP helped. By securing their property
and farming again, farmers can improve their livelihoods." - Hassan Yusuf Roble,
Mayor of Gabiley
Figure 1. Natural Area Codes are used as farm identifier and control points
Cadastral Surveys also maps, with databases and ID cards, urban,
privately-owned properties in Somaliland.
Streets are given NAC coding; likewise buildings with eight alphanumeric
characters representing universal postal addresses. House-owners in Somaliland have not before had postal addresses.
These can be superimposed electronically with NAC coding on satellite images of
urban properties. The codes, identifying any object, large or small, on
the ground, are there forever. They cannot be changed.
Figure 2. Universal Addresses are used as addresses and property identifiers
The automation in generating Universal Addresses has saved
huge amounts of work, time and money normally required in manually assigning addresses,
postal codes and property identifiers in this kind of projects. Universal
Addresses used as property identifiers have given the government the most
efficient and low-cost approach to establish computerized management systems
for recording major financial processes such as revenue collections and records
of all land transfers. These greatly accelerate the property registration
process and avoided many conflicts arising from the land disputes.
The automatically generated digital addresses are short, accurate, universal
and of multiple uses. They are always well aligned and systematic no matter
when and where they are generated, and will never be used up no matter how
dense the population will be, which guarantees long term consistency and
efficiency in assigning addresses, unlike the postal codes in other countries
that have faced serious shortages and chaos due to continuous redevelopment,
and become more and more expensive and difficult to maintain. "This (the Universal Address System) is very
impressive," said Henrik Jespersen,
Counselor of Royal Danish Embassy at Nairobi,
Republic of Kenya.
The timely implementation of the Universal Address System
has also made Somaliland the world’s first
country with universal digital addresses. People in Somaliland
will soon enjoy the great benefits brought by the Universal Address System.
They will be able to directly pinpoint all addresses on maps without the need
to waste time in looking up street indexes. They will be able to use street
signs to figure out the distance and direction to any destination. They will be
able to directly navigate to any locations with GPS watches, GPS cellphones or
other GPS receivers. They will be able to use wireless or wired location based
services more efficiently and reliably than in any other country in the world.
They will get the fastest and most reliable emergency services. The will have
their mail sorted automatically from world level to the final mailboxes. They
will be able to use Universal Addresses to identify, manage and navigate to all
buildings, houses, gates, doors, fire hydrants, sewage exits, electric wire
poles, street lights, trees, parking meters, bus stops, camping sites, fishing
spots, rescue points, etc. They will be able to use the most efficient universal
area codes - Natural Area Codes to retrieve maps and manage lands, natural
resources, environment, transportation, etc in all geographic information
systems. They will be able to use Universal Addresses to record accurate
locations of accidents, crimes, discoveries and events to eliminate legal
disputes arising from ambiguous location descriptions. Tourists will never get
lost in Somaliland. Somaliland
will become the world most advanced country in location technologies, thanks to
the implementation of the Natural Area Coding System that makes all the
geographic information connected, exchangeable and highly efficient.
"This pioneer project
has first rooted and deployed the Universal Address System in the real world,"
said Dr. Xinhang Shen, President of NAC Geographic Products Inc., "
and we are very grateful to Mr. Jim Karygiannis, Member of Parliament of
Canada, for his initiation of this
historical project."
About NAC Geographic Products Inc
Founded in 1995, NAC Geographic Products Inc. (http://www.nacgeo.com/)
is a world leading developer in GIS, GPS, Internet and wireless technologies,
based in Toronto, Canada. The company provides a
variety of innovative spatial solutions, software products and location based
services.
About Cadastral Surveys
Cadastral Surveys (http://www.undp.org/dpa/choices/)
is a Non-Government Organization registered in Somaliland (South of the Gulf of
Aden) and the United Kingdom in 1999 for the purpose of bringing to an end,
through cadastral surveying, violent land disputes between Somali refugees who
had returned to Somaliland from Ethiopian refugee camps to restore their former
farming 'rights' that had no boundaries. Later, Cadastral Surveys
surveyed and mapped the Somaliland towns of Gabiley, Lughaya and Tog Wajaale. Cadastral Surveys has been supported by
UNOPS, The Danish Refugee Council, and UNDP.
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