Transdisciplinary planning using WEF Nexus serious games: Towards watershed management implementation

Water resource planning has been promoted to improve access to water in terms of quality and quantity. To make planning a reality, both resources and engagement of stakeholders in the areas of analysis are required. However, based on our experience in several Latin American countries, taking watershed management plans through to implementation is complex. The integration of sectoral water users in a more active way, especially where agricultural and other producers can evaluate the benefits of water and environmental planning to have continued access to sufficient quantity and quality of water is essential for implementation.  We conducted a transdisciplinary research project for the sustainable management of water, energy, and food (WEF) resources of the Sevilla River, Colombia, one of five rivers that originate in the Sierra Nevada and flow to the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast. Río Sevilla is the main source of surface and groundwater for domestic supply, agricultural irrigation, and livestock in the Zona Bananera municipality. Various natural factors including scarce rainfall during El Niño years, the intermittent surface water regime of tributary streams, and concurrent human impacts of water diversion and land use change, the watershed is experiencing significant decreases in flow, the loss of water connectivity with the Ciénaga, and the resulting ecological fragmentation. By applying the WEF Nexus framework, the study assessed the relationship between oil palm, banana, and coffee production, and the water volumes and estimates of energy consumed. Using national databases and information provided by local associations of these sectors (Fedepalma, Cenipalma, Federación Nacional de Cafeteros, Asbama, and Agrosavia) as well as conservation organizations (WWF and the Water Stewardship Platform it coordinates) and the Magadalena Departmental Environmental Authority, we developed a Water Evaluation and Planning System WEAP model to quantify water supply, demand, and their interrelationships. These and other stakeholders together with the research team jointly identified problems and evaluated alternative actions to address identified challenges. The participatory Scenariothon ‘serious games’ methodology promoted dialogue, communication, and consensus-building in three stages: 1) a social mapping workshop to identify the main WEF problems and locations, 2) identification of actions that could be implemented by individual stakeholders and their expert knowledge to reduce water and energy consumption and achieve water-efficient crop production, and 3) a synthesis workshop to identify and evaluate collective and coordinated actions and compare these with individual actions from (2) using the WEAP model. The model includes all users and simulates different outcomes of the actions, including crop production and energy consumption by type of irrigation system (flood, sprinkler, or drip). Indicators were defined to compare actions, considering crop production efficiency, water availability, and energy consumption. Scenariothon WEAP simulations of the impacts of stakeholder-identified actions were assessed (https://latinoamericasei.shinyapps.io/JuegoSerio_CuencasSevillaFrio/). This methodology and indicators can be used as a robust planning process to better integrate environmental and sectoral water planning, gain stakeholder support for the implementation of plans, and improve river basin management outcomes.