Colombia’s government has entered into a partnership with XRP developer Ripple Labs to put land deeds on the blockchain. According to the announcement, the idea is to solve the problem of land distribution, which has led to decades of armed conflict.
The new project is designed by Ripple and blockchain development firm Peeryst. It will be used for authenticating and storing titles on Ripple’s public blockchain.
The Project Will Solve Bureaucracy In Land Distribution
The partnership is geared toward removing the bottlenecks and bureaucracy in land distribution, making it fairer for everyone involved.
Since land ownership in South America is one of the most highly concentrated in the world, the Colombian government believes this approach will solve a lot of issues in land ownership and distribution. “Land is everything in Colombia,” Ferran Prat, Chief Executive Officer of Peersyst Technology, stated.
It is also reflected during the peace deal in the Colombian civil war between 1964 and 2016, the longest conflict in the western hemisphere. Following the unequal distribution of land, the leftist guerrilla groups stood against the state and took up arms. Prat added that the land distribution dispute was one of the main reasons why armed groups like the FARC started a war with the government.
He added that In Colombia land is very important. As a result, there should be a system that will ensure that people or government do not take land wrongly. And entering the information on a public blockchain that cannot be altered will help a great deal, Prat noted.
The New Project Will Start By Certifying More Than 100,000 Adjudications
Ripple Labs stated that many land owners in Colombia do not have the papers that give them a claim over the land. But the new project will be launched by certifying over 100,000 land adjudications.
Using the blockchain, after the transaction is entered, it can never be altered or deleted. It will remain permanent and serve as a reference that can prevent disputes in the future. The new process will also eliminate incidences and consequences of lost or misplaced documents. Ripple Labs added that the information will still be available on the blockchain even if the government system is altered or blown up.