The serious game about water management under uncertainty! What - given the uncertainties about the future - is a sustainable water management plan? Water management is increasingly challenged by pressures from population growth, sea level rise and potential climate change. Exploring adaptation pathways into the future will provide indispensable support to decision making in achieving sustainable water management in a changing environment.
The Sustainable Delta Game, helps participants learn about preparing for an uncertain future. In this game a group of participants has the assignment to develop a sustainable water management plan for a river delta. Once the future unfolds, the participants experience what happens in the delta and its environment. Was there a flood or a drought event? What is the opinion of inhabitants? What happened in other countries? Do you need to adapt the water policies?
With simulations based on an environmental model, participants get direct feedback on their policy actions. In addition, to negative impacts of floods and droughts, support of inhabitants, economic growth, and impacts on nature need to be taken into account in decision making about the water management plan. The game does not only support learning about the water system, but also about the decision making process, and how to deal with a changing environment full of uncertainty. After the simulation, the participants and facilitators reflect on the developed storyline and adaptation pathway, and discuss what triggered this pathway and how it can be improved.
The game can be used for:
Learning about water system impacts
Learning about adaptive policy making and adaptation pathways
As a starting point for discussion about scenarios and sustainable water management
As part of a stakeholder process
To discuss and develop innovative solutions
The original Sustainable Delta Game is developed by a team of employees from Deltares, University Utrecht, University Maastricht-ICIS, Carthago Consultancy, Pantopicon, KNMI, and University Twente. The game has been further developed by Deltares and Carthago Consultancy. The NZ River and NZ Coast have been developed in close cooperation with the Climate Change Research Institute, Victoria University of Wellington.
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