A role-playing game as a tool to facilitate social learning and collective action towards Climate Smart Agriculture: Lessons learned from Apuí, Brazil. Issue 63 (September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Salvini, G.; van Paassen, A.; Ligtenberg, A.; Carrero, G.C.; Bregt, A.K.
• Is Part Of: Environmental science & policy. Issue 63(2016:Sep.)
• Page Start: 113
• Page End: 121
• Publication Date: 2016-09
• Subjects: Adaptation -- Climate smart agriculture -- Collective action -- Role-playing games -- Social learning; Environmental policy -- Periodicals; Environmental sciences -- Periodicals; Environnement -- Politique gouvernementale -- Périodiques; Sciences de l'environnement -- Périodiques; Environmental policy; Environmental sciences; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 363.70561
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2016.05.016
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1462-9011

Abstract

Highlights: Transition towards climate-smart agriculture require technical and socio-institutional learning. We evaluated whether a role-playing game could be an effective tool to encourage such learning. We designed a role-playing game and implemented it in a case study area in Southern Amazonas. The game induced technical and socio-institutional learning, and triggered collective action. Abstract: Addressing the global challenges of climate change (CC), food security and poverty alleviation requires enhancing the adaptive capacity and mitigation potential of land use systems. To this end, Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) aims to identify land use practices that sustainably increase productivity, enhance climate change (CC) adaptation and contribute to CC mitigation. A transition towards CSA requires technical, but also socio-institutional changes, for improved smallholder agricultural systems. Such changes may be triggered by stakeholder participation processes that stimulate social learning and collective action. This article evaluates whether a role-playing game (RPG) is an effective participatory tool to encourage social learning and collective action among local stakeholders towards adoption of CSA strategies. We designed and implemented an RPG with three groups of farmers in Apuí (Southern Amazonas), evaluating the game's impact on social learning by interviewing each farmer before and after the RPG. Our findings show that the RPG induced not only technical learning, but also socio-institutional learning and engagement for collective action, though outcomes varied between different RPG sessions and among farmer participants.