Water Allocation Simulation (WAS)
Exploration of a tool to support collaborative water allocation planning for the Sand River Catchment
Under the Act, South Africa is divided into 19 Water Management Areas that correspond to hydrological boundaries. Each of these has a CMA expected to execute its duties in collaboration with local stakeholders. There are a number of stakeholder platforms (Catchment Management Forums and Catchment management Committees) where IWRM can be negotiated at more local scales. Whilst multiple stakeholder platforms have the potential to be highly troubled environments, dialogue and collective planning are important and constructive points of departure in deriving strategic plans for managing the water resources. The drafting of a catchment management strategy (CMS) is the nexus for negotiation and consensus-reaching as well as a collaborative ground plan for rolling out water reform, conservation and management.
This short term project designed a process and tool, WAT-A-GAME (Ferrand, Farolfi, Abrami, 2009), that aims at facilitating exploration and transformation of water management and water use at the catchment scale. It gives a simple but enlightening view of the various consequences of individual and collective choices, including regulation policies.
This game has been tested in France to support change and implementation of water policies. In the context of South Africa the intention is to link the decision-making tool to the development of Catchment Management Strategies. The tool offers the opportunity to engage with the visioning process, scenario planning, the viability and implementation of water resource protection strategies, inform water use regulation and monitoring functions.
This process took place in 2009 in collaboration with the Inkomati Catchment Management Agency. The aim was to run a test case in the Sand River Catchment alongside the CMS development process with a number of stakeholder groups.
References:
1. Barreteau, O. (2003) Our Companion Modeling Approach, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Vol. 6, No. 2. Online [URL]: http://jasss.soc.surrey.uk/6/2/1.html, 27/01/06.Barreteau, O., et alii,
2. Biggs, H., D. Du Toit, et al. (2008). Preliminary exploration of two approaches to documenting elements of the mental models of stakeholders in the Crocodile Catchment. Water Research Commission,
3. DWAF, (2004). National Water Resource Strategy. Government Printers, Pretoria.
4. DWAF. (2007). Guidelines for the Development of Catchment Management Strategies: Towards equity, efficiency and sustainability in water resources management. First Edition. By S.R. Pollard, D. du Toit, J. Reddy and T. Tlou. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Pretoria, South Africa. Available from ww.dwaf.gov.za/documents/ other: catchment management.
5. Etienne, M., Du Toit, D., Pollard, S., (2008) ARDI: a co-construction method for participatory modelling in natural resources management. IEMSS Congress, Barcelona.
6. Ferrand, N., Farolfi, S., Abrami, G., 2009, WAT-A-GAME: sharing water and policies in your own basin. Accepted for ISAGA conference. Singapore : SSAGSG.
7. Pollard, S & du Toit, D. (2004). The Save the Sand Project: a case study. Both Ends, Netherlands
8. Ramanath, AM, Gilbert, N., 2004 - The Design of Participatory Agent-Based Social Simulations - Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation vol. 7, no. 4. http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/7/4/1.html