Modelling Cultural and Behavioural change in Water Management: An integrated, agent based, gaming approach

Abstract

Our objective is to develop new ways of modelling the dynamics of water management that provide for exploration and representation of cultural and behavioural change in relation to changes in a water system. Our approach is to develop an interactive computer game. In the game, the water system is modelled using spatially-explicit integrated assessment models, and water management is represented as the dynamic outcome of interactions between water culture, water policy and autonomous actor behaviour. The purpose of the game is to explore future pathways of water management in the Ebro River Basin in Spain, and contribute to a social learning process amongst the players involved. The paper reports work in progress, but the conceptual approach has already been translated into a game format, which has been tested and shows promise.