Use of role play games to resolve water conflicts
The world is rapidly becoming more urbanised and increased population densities make access to safe water more difficult. The areas adjacent to urban centres experience a great demand for water as city dwellers compete with farming communities who wish to protect their water rights. Furthermore, aquifers and rivers are contaminated by industrial pollution and waste from residential areas. In an attempt to address the problem of water access, the NEGOWAT project created a tool to help communities in Bolivia and Brazil better understand the issues involved. The tool comprised a role play game that helped improve the management of water resources by facilitating discussion sessions between different stakeholders. The game helped to diffuse tensions among competing interest groups. It involved negotiating improved management of water for multiple users and improved participation in the decision-making process. Through role playing participants gained valuable insights into the different interests, constraints and risks involved in managing such a valuable natural resource as water. In this way players learned techniques for resolving water conflicts.
