AquaFej: a simulation game for planning water management - an experiment in central Tunisia
by Marjorie Le Bars; Philippe Le Grusse; Laassad Albouchi
International Journal of Sustainable Development (IJSD), Vol. 17, No. 3, 2014

Abstract: Until the 2000s, water resources in Tunisia were managed solely by government bodies without any consultation with water users. At the local level, Commissariats Règionaux de Dèveloppement Agricole [Regional Agricultural Development Committees (CRDAs)], which represented the government bodies, managed water resources. The Tunisian Government then decided to involve farmers in the local management of water resources by creating Agricultural Development Associations (GDAs). Water resource management by CRDAs must now take into account water demand from farmers belonging to GDAs and, in return, farmers must acknowledge water scarcity and accept the need for resource-sharing. How can CRDAs and GDAs work towards cooperative water management? In this paper, we present a simulation game requested by officials at the Kairouan CRDA in order to develop cooperative management of the water resources in a typical small watershed in central Tunisia. Our aim was to use the game to increase both farmers' awareness of water resource-sharing, scarcity, and the impact of overexploitation, and CRDA officials' awareness of different uses that determine water demands. The game is based on a hydrological model of the watershed and an agro-economic model of farming systems that use water resources for irrigation.

Online publication date: Sat, 30-Aug-2014

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Sustainable Development (IJSD):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com