Aubrey Barker Fund

Established in 1972, the Aubrey Barker Fund is dedicated to enhancing sustainable survey and land management skills in developing countries through professional education and capacity building for the lasting benefit of local communities.

The ABF Trustees agreed in October 2024 that our current strategy is to support the development of necessary survey and land management skills, and to ensure that they are available in all nations and communities; alongside encouraging and facilitating the sharing of these skills and knowledge with communities so that we increase our collective capacity to manage our key asset: our land. Our funding has no particular geographic focus beyond being for the support of developing countries (defined as countries designated by the World Bank as lower income, lower-middle income or upper-middle income).  We will prioritise projects which positively impact the ability to measure and manage matters directly related to land.

Land is central to our lives - as individuals, as communities and as nations. We cannot generally increase the amount of land on our planet, so it is absolutely essential that we manage it wisely, for ourselves and for future generations. To do this, we need to consider issues including effective development management, protection and improvement of habitats, pollution control, replenishment, security of title and certainty of occupier rights. All of this requires skilled individuals and informed communities who understand the social, economic and environmental importance of land.

The Trustees of ABF - individuals with expertise in this field from around the world – seek to share Aubrey Barker’s passion through grants and through establishing continuing networks which share good practice in sustainable survey and land management. We aim to make long-lasting impacts in communities, in nations and across nations through spreading awareness, capability and capacity. We do this through our smaller grants with a focus on supporting individuals and small/ medium organisations, especially at grass roots and national levels; and through our Foundation Partnerships which include larger-scale agencies, and which may provide opportunities to support organisations and individuals to build their capacity to allow applications for larger-scale projects.