Playing games to save water: Collective action games for groundwater management in Andhra Pradesh, India

Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Janssen, Marco A.; Kandikuppa, Sandeep; Chaturvedi, Rahul; Rao, Kaushalendra; Theis, Sophie

doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.02.006

Cited by 99 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 48 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Social networks serve as serve as platforms for exchange of information and experiences which ultimately build trust and norms of reciprocity among members. This is comparable to other studies [51,55] that communication within networks enhances sustainable management of water resources. These results resonate with our study which showed that social network enhanced compliance to water allocation regulations and participation in cooperative management (Table 5), and such farmers were likely to use boreholes to supplement irrigation needs during dry season in response to water scarcity (Table 7).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Water Resources Management among Smallholder Irrigators in the Tsavo Sub-Catchment, Kenya

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The rising demand for food production in a changing climate impacts water resources negatively in semi-arid agro-ecosystems. In the Tsavo sub-catchment of Kenya, this is compounded by a surging population and expansion of cropping as a land use; leading to increased abstraction of surface water resources and deterioration of related ecosystem services. The impact of increased abstraction is more profound during water stress seasons when stream-flow levels are low. While water policies have incorporated a requirement for environmental flows, unregulated abstractions persist suggesting an inherent challenge. Drawing on a sample of 279 households, we analysed farmers' engagement in water resources management and explored how this can inform water resource planning. Seasonal water scarcity and user conflicts were the major challenges experienced by the farmers. Ordinal and logistic regression models show that knowledge, attitude and practices were culture-dependent being impacted by educational attainment, level of income, access to extension and membership to local networks. Attitude and practice were further influenced by land tenure and farm distance to water sources. Since knowledge of water management issues informed attitudes and practices, improved awareness and targeted extension support are necessary in the development and implementation of policy decisions on water resources management.2 of 17 water through centralised infrastructure, such as dams, others call for consideration of decentralised on-farm technologies and practices that safeguard ecosystems [7]. There is however, a concurrence that water management approaches must strike a balance between economy and ecosystems [3,17]. Water management interventions are thus perceived as delicate balancing act with many trade-offs, particularly in water stressed river basins where trade-offs are associated with high opportunity costs [8]. While less water for food may condemn many people to hunger, less water for the environment will undermine ecosystems [8,18,19]. However, with increased knowledge of water management, water stressed environments have higher prospects for sustainable agriculture [20]. Water-efficient technologies if integrated with appropriate agronomic practices have the potential to improve food productivity while safeguarding ecosystems [20,21].Water management approaches that focus on decentralised technologies, such as on-farm surface water storage, can improve food production without allocation of additional water from the ecosystems [21,22]. As a result, decentralised water management technologies have received renewed attention in many countries that have acknowledged their contribution in sustainable agriculture [22][23][24]. Moreover, agriculture is now considered both as an integrated system and as an agro-ecosystem, providing services and interacting with other ecosystems [7]. Transitioning to sustainable agricultural water management requires broad understanding and support for changes in water policies [25,26]. However, the proce...

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Water Resources Management among Smallholder Irrigators in the Tsavo Sub-Catchment, Kenya

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In our groundwater game, players choose between crops with different water consumption and profitability and see the simulated effects on aquifer sustainability, showing that short-term profits by some come at long-term costs borne by all. In India, sites where this game was played were significantly more likely to adopt rules governing groundwater use, compared with control communities (11).…”

Section: Insights | Policy Forummentioning

confidence: 99%

Tragedy revisited

Boyd

Richerson

Meinzen-Dick

et al. 2018

Science

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.” So argued ecologist Garrett Hardin in “ The Tragedy of the Commons ” in the 13 December 1968 issue of Science ( 1 ). Hardin questioned society's ability to manage shared resources and avoid an environmentally and socially calamitous free-for-all. In the 50 years since, the essay has influenced discussions ranging from climate change (see page 1217 ) to evolution, from infectious disease to the internet, and has reached far beyond academic literature—but not without criticism. Considerable work, notably by Nobelist Elinor Ostrom ( 2 ), has challenged Hardin, particularly his emphasis on property rights and government regulatory leviathans as solutions. Instead, research has documented contexts, cases, and principles that reflect the ability of groups to collectively govern common resources. To mark this anniversary and celebrate the richness of research and practice around commons and cooperation, Science invited experts to share some contemporary views on such tragedies and how to avert them. — Brad Wible

show abstract

“…The "game of the camel" on the Astien or the game Gaspido on the Roussillon which are combining goose game, quiz and challenges) that are used mainly for schools. Drawing from the innovative use of serious games (Meinzen-Dick et al 2018), this kind of tools can be used to the general public to invigorate awareness campaigns or with insiders to foster collective discussion and explore different scenarios.…”

Section: Groundwater Is Not Photogenic But Inspires Fictionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Challenge of Making Groundwater Visible: A Review of Communication Approaches and Tools in France

Richard-Ferroudji

Lassaube

2020

Sustainable Groundwater Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Groundwater specialists strive to make groundwater issues visible. They face a dual challenge: first to develop knowledge on groundwater and secondly to share this knowledge with other stakeholders who should be included in knowledge development, groundwater management and protection policy. Questioning communication is all the more interesting as groundwater is a quasi-invisible resource. How groundwater and issues can be made more visible? In the field of sociology, with a pragmatist stance, our chapter questions how instruments frame interactions and represent groundwater. Indeed, the groundwater is made visible by tables, indicators, maps, photographs, videos, games, stories in newspaper and spokespersons such as hydrogeologists. Within a project funded by AFB (The French Agency for Biodiversity), we reported on a number of communication approaches and activities implemented in 11 case studies in France. The inventory is based on web mining, grey literature review and interviews. The chapter develops a transversal analysis of the use of the instruments, and identifies assets and limits across the cases according to the following categories: public targeted; content, issues brought to the fore and normative stance adopted; type/format. Finally, concrete recommendations are made.

show abstract

Playing games to save water: Collective action games for groundwater management in Andhra Pradesh, India

Cited by 99 publications

References 48 publications

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Water Resources Management among Smallholder Irrigators in the Tsavo Sub-Catchment, Kenya

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Water Resources Management among Smallholder Irrigators in the Tsavo Sub-Catchment, Kenya

Tragedy revisited

The Challenge of Making Groundwater Visible: A Review of Communication Approaches and Tools in France

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About