A water resources simulation gaming model for the Invitational Drought Tournament

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Water Resource Management
• Systems Dynamics Modeling

Background:

• Drought poses significant socio-economic challenges, necessitating effective management strategies.
• River basin-scale drought management requires integrated approaches to address complex water resource systems.
• Existing tools may lack the comprehensive, user-friendly, and collaborative features needed for effective drought mitigation planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a system dynamics-based simulation gaming model as a decision support tool for river-basin scale drought management.
• To provide a platform for understanding the broad effects of socio-economic drought and evaluating mitigation strategies.
• To facilitate collaborative decision-making and consensus building among stakeholders through a user-friendly experimental environment.

Main Methods:

• Development of a system dynamics-based simulation gaming model, the Invitational Drought Tournament (IDT) Model.
• Utilizing the model to simulate drought scenarios and test various management options.
• Analyzing model results to demonstrate the effectiveness of drought mitigation policies and improve understanding of water resource systems.

Main Results:

• The IDT Model provides an integrated overview of drought conditions and their socio-economic impacts.
• Model simulations illustrate the short-to longer-term effectiveness of different drought mitigation policies.
• The model enhances understanding of water resource system complexities and management trade-offs for IDT teams.

Conclusions:

• The IDT Model serves as a valuable decision support tool for drought management at the river-basin scale.
• The model promotes collaborative decision-making and improves understanding of drought impacts and mitigation strategies.
• The flexible structure of the IDT Model allows for rapid reconfiguration and application to diverse river basins.