Wat-A-Game, a toolkit for building role-playing games about integrated water management

Participatory modeling and role-playing games have been successfully implemented for a few decades as tools for social learning and supporting water management and governance. However engaging the stakeholders and scientists in building a dedicated playable model is a repetitive, lengthy and costly process, furthermore not easily transferable. The Wat-A-Game (WAG) methodological toolkit provides generic components ("bricks"), methodological guidelines, training sessions and online support to managers, technicians or teachers who wish to become autonomous in developing and using such approach. With WAG, process managers and other stakeholders can easily assembly land plot cards, hydrographic units, actions and role cards, and let physical water drops (marbles), clean or dirty, flow, be captured and used. Many scales can be addressed and even interlinked. Policies can be tested. WAG is free. WAG has been extended in South Africa (2007-2010) for a process discussing the Catchment Management Strategy with several levels and types of stakeholders. Based on the evaluation made, this process appeared actually successful in bringing stakeholders to share views and understand better their catchment, while providing insights for research on such processes. Outside South-Africa, developments occur in Mozambique (1 executive course), in the Niger basin (2 executive courses, 9 countries), in Ethiopia (1 executive course), in Tunisia (1 operational workshop) and in France (3 projects). In these sessions, participants are guided in developing prototype WAG applications for their own case studies, resulting in new diverse issues and scales (e.g. sedimentation, hydro-electricity, urban expansion...) which at next stage bring new insights and developments for the generic toolkit. For further development and processes, WAG now proposes long term support and a web site including custom tailored design of games, a simulator and a community access.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Abrami, Géraldine, Ferrand, Nils, Morardet, Sylvie, Murgue, Clément, Popova, Albena, De Fooij, Heleen, Farolfi, Stefano, Du toit, Derick, Aquae-Gaudi, Wanda
Format:	conference_item biblioteca
Language:	eng
Published:	IEMSS
Subjects:	U30 - Méthodes de recherche, P10 - Ressources en eau et leur gestion,
Online Access:	http://agritrop.cirad.fr/565254/ http://agritrop.cirad.fr/565254/1/document_565254.pdf
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