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

Groundwater is one of the most challenging common pool resources to govern, resulting in resource depletion in many areas. We present an innovative use of collective action games to not only measure propensity for cooperation, but to improve local understanding of groundwater interrelationships and...

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Autores principales: Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S., Janssen, Marco A., Kandikuppa, Sandeep, Chaturvedi, Rahul, Rao, Kaushalendra, Theis, Sophie
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99299
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author Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.
Janssen, Marco A.
Kandikuppa, Sandeep
Chaturvedi, Rahul
Rao, Kaushalendra
Theis, Sophie
author_browse Chaturvedi, Rahul
Janssen, Marco A.
Kandikuppa, Sandeep
Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.
Rao, Kaushalendra
Theis, Sophie
author_facet Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.
Janssen, Marco A.
Kandikuppa, Sandeep
Chaturvedi, Rahul
Rao, Kaushalendra
Theis, Sophie
author_sort Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Groundwater is one of the most challenging common pool resources to govern, resulting in resource depletion in many areas. We present an innovative use of collective action games to not only measure propensity for cooperation, but to improve local understanding of groundwater interrelationships and stimulate collective governance of groundwater, based on a pilot study in Andhra Pradesh, India. The games simulate crop choice and consequences for the aquifer. These were followed by a community debriefing, which provided an entry point for discussing the interconnectedness of groundwater use, to affect mental models about groundwater. A slightly modified game was played in the same communities, one year later. Our study finds communication within the game increased the likelihood of groups reaching sustainable extraction levels in the second year of play, but not the first. Individual payments to participants based on how they played in the game had no effect on crop choice. Either repeated experience with the games or the revised structure of the game evoked more cooperation in the second year, outweighing other factors influencing behavior, such as education, gender, and trust index scores. After the games were played, a significantly higher proportion of communities adopted water registers and rules to govern groundwater, compared to other communities in the same NGO water commons program. Because groundwater levels are affected by many factors, games alone will not end groundwater depletion. However, games can contribute to social learning about the role of crop choice and collective action, to motivate behavior change toward more sustainable groundwater extraction.
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spelling CGSpace992992025-06-03T19:26:06Z Playing games to save water: Collective action games for groundwater management in Andhra Pradesh, India Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S. Janssen, Marco A. Kandikuppa, Sandeep Chaturvedi, Rahul Rao, Kaushalendra Theis, Sophie water management collective action groundwater learning collective behaviour stakeholders sustainability capacity development groundwater irrigation groundwater table varieties aquifers stakeholder engagement experimental design awareness-raising behavioural responses self-sufficiency Groundwater is one of the most challenging common pool resources to govern, resulting in resource depletion in many areas. We present an innovative use of collective action games to not only measure propensity for cooperation, but to improve local understanding of groundwater interrelationships and stimulate collective governance of groundwater, based on a pilot study in Andhra Pradesh, India. The games simulate crop choice and consequences for the aquifer. These were followed by a community debriefing, which provided an entry point for discussing the interconnectedness of groundwater use, to affect mental models about groundwater. A slightly modified game was played in the same communities, one year later. Our study finds communication within the game increased the likelihood of groups reaching sustainable extraction levels in the second year of play, but not the first. Individual payments to participants based on how they played in the game had no effect on crop choice. Either repeated experience with the games or the revised structure of the game evoked more cooperation in the second year, outweighing other factors influencing behavior, such as education, gender, and trust index scores. After the games were played, a significantly higher proportion of communities adopted water registers and rules to govern groundwater, compared to other communities in the same NGO water commons program. Because groundwater levels are affected by many factors, games alone will not end groundwater depletion. However, games can contribute to social learning about the role of crop choice and collective action, to motivate behavior change toward more sustainable groundwater extraction. 2018-07 2019-02-06T12:29:16Z 2019-02-06T12:29:16Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99299 en https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148115 http://www.ifpri.org/blog/playing-games-save-water https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133794 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.134238 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.134949 Open Access Elsevier Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Janssen, Marco A.; Kandikuppa, Sandeep; Chaturvedi, Rahul; Rao, Kaushalendra; Theis, Sophie. 2018. Playing games to save water: Collective action games for groundwater management in Andhra Pradesh, India. World Development 107(July 2018): 40-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.02.006
spellingShingle water management
collective action
groundwater
learning
collective behaviour
stakeholders
sustainability
capacity development
groundwater irrigation
groundwater table
varieties
aquifers
stakeholder engagement
experimental design
awareness-raising
behavioural responses
self-sufficiency
Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.
Janssen, Marco A.
Kandikuppa, Sandeep
Chaturvedi, Rahul
Rao, Kaushalendra
Theis, Sophie
Playing games to save water: Collective action games for groundwater management in Andhra Pradesh, India
title Playing games to save water: Collective action games for groundwater management in Andhra Pradesh, India
title_full Playing games to save water: Collective action games for groundwater management in Andhra Pradesh, India
title_fullStr Playing games to save water: Collective action games for groundwater management in Andhra Pradesh, India
title_full_unstemmed Playing games to save water: Collective action games for groundwater management in Andhra Pradesh, India
title_short Playing games to save water: Collective action games for groundwater management in Andhra Pradesh, India
title_sort playing games to save water collective action games for groundwater management in andhra pradesh india
topic water management
collective action
groundwater
learning
collective behaviour
stakeholders
sustainability
capacity development
groundwater irrigation
groundwater table
varieties
aquifers
stakeholder engagement
experimental design
awareness-raising
behavioural responses
self-sufficiency
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99299
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