Games, Role-Playing, Tools and Models as a Learning Process to Simulate Groundwater Management Negotiation

How to make relevant decisions to preserve the quality of the hydrosystem and human wellbeing? This work assists in answering this question at a local level. A negotiation support simulator for a regional project is proposed which includes the numerous actors involved in water resource management projects. This simulator combines negotiation support tools and role-playing game for gravel extraction in an alluvial aquifer. During the simulation, each participant acts out the role of specific entity with their own objectives and stakes. Together, the players have to decide around the negotiating table, where is the best location for a new gravel pit location in the territory? During the negotiation process, they have to defend their interests and to accept the territory as a multidimensional entity (biophysical and human), to achieve a balanced solution. For this endeavor, each player may use different tools to design a spatial argumentation from GIS territorial representation. For example, to show the impact of the gravel pit on the aquifer, a player can create a resource for persuasion with a physical model (MODFLOW) or a biological model (subterranean ecology). The simulation familiarizes players with the complexity of territorial arbitration and negotiation support tools (GIS, physical and biological models). Furthermore, players are aware of the difficulty to produce more ecological negotiations and consider human aspects in conservation of water resources.