Cutting-edge technologies - from drones to data collected by taxi drivers - are becoming key weapons in the global battle to improve land rights and fight poverty, experts said on Monday. Advances in earth observation, digital connectivity and computing power provide an array of information, from detailed topographical maps to transportation use, that was previously unimaginable, geospatial experts said at a World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty. The information collected can be instrumental to helping establish property records and land titling systems in countries where there is no formal ownership or land-use documentation. Survey-mapping drones may look like toys but are powerful machines having a huge impact on land-use planning in Africa, said Edward Anderson, a senior World Bank disaster management expert.

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