485 | Page DEVELOPING A LAND INFORMATION SYSTEM OF GURU WEST EXTENSION LAYOUT, BAUCHI, BAUCHI STATE, NIGERIA Mustapha Saleh Maina 1 , Hassan Audu Ahmed 2 Geography Department, Federal University Gashua, Yobe State. Nigeria (India) ABSTRACT Land as a resource is fixed in supply but its demand for various uses is variable and on the innnufcrease as human population keeps on increasing. This explains why efficient land administration is central to socio- economic development and sustainable land information systems of any nation. This paper presents an overview of GIS application in the development of Land Information System for managing and monitoring the study area. A Land Information System is a tool for legal, administrative and economic decision-making and an aid for planning and development which consists on the one hand of a data base containing spatially referenced land- related data for a defined area, and on the other hand, of procedures and techniques for the Systematic collection, updating, processing and distribution of the data.. The base of a land information system is a uniform spatial referencing system usually includes a geometric description of land parcels linked to other records describing the nature of interests, the ownership or control of other interests and often the value of the parcel and its improvements. Therefore, a comprehensive discussion of the concept of land administration systems was attempted, in view of this; a prototype land information system of Ownership details, Parcel information, Plot type, Land use, Status was developed and other attribute information ware obtained by physical inspection. The development of Land Information System however brought about the need for accurate information in planning and decision making well as effective land-use administration and thereby, more generally, promote economic development, social cohesion and sustainable development. I. INTRODUCTION The management of land information has been in existence since people first took to sedentary agriculture (Dale et al, 1988). When the Babylonians occupied the lands between the Tigris and the Euphrates and the Egyptians cultivated the fertile regions of the Nile, the need for orderly land management was recognized. This in turn led to the development of rudimentary land information systems. More recent examples include topographical and geological mapping programmes, valuation and forest inventory surveys and land title survey and registration systems. These systems provide both the information infrastructure necessary for land allocation and settlement and the additional techniques and resource information needed for resource development. Land information is a prime requisite for making decisions related to land investment, development and management. Information therefore reduces uncertainty by helping to identify and analyze problems and the strategies to overcoming them may be prepared and implemented. The value of the information and the effectiveness of the decision making process are directly related to the quality of the information and the manner