Role-playing game development in irrigation management : a social learning approach

In the São Francisco river valley in Brazil, irrigation schemes for smallholders were created in the 1960s in order to promote rural development. A little later, in the 1970s, entrepreneurial farms were expected to grow commercial crops, to enable the financial sustainability of these schemes (World Bank, 2002). A regional public development office, Companhia de Desenvolvimento dos Vales do São Francisco e do Parnaiba (CODEVASF, the development company of the São Francisco river valley), was in charge of the operation and maintenance of these schemes from the 1960s until water management transfer started in the 1980s. A role-playing game (RPG) was developed to address the issue of capacity building relating to water management decisions. The following question is addressed in this chapter: How can the process of developing an RPG facilitate social learning through improved information, communication and participation? The RPG focuses on the pricing reforms for three major reasons. First, pricing water is the interface between water users and the district. Second, it is a key issue with respect to irrigation management sustainability. And third, it is a potential source of conflict between water users and district managers. The first section presents the approach of co-development of an RPG and the underlying concepts of social learning. In the second section, we describe the RPG CAPAGUASF (capacity building in irrigation water management in the São Francisco river valley) and the game sessions. The outcomes of the game are discussed in the third section.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Chohin-Kuper, Anne, Ducrot, Raphaèle, Tonneau, Jean-Philippe, Da Rocha Barros, Edonilce
Format:	book_section biblioteca
Language:	eng
Published:	Earthscan Publications
Subjects:	P10 - Ressources en eau et leur gestion, U10 - Informatique, mathématiques et statistiques, gestion des eaux, irrigation, droits d'utilisation de l'eau, participation, facteur psychologique, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_8320, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_3954, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_16062, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_37602, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_26810, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_1070,
Online Access:	http://agritrop.cirad.fr/534730/ http://agritrop.cirad.fr/534730/1/ID534730.pdf
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!