How can we anticipate and possibly avoid future water conflicts by using serious games? To what extent should complexity be mapped or simplified? How can we deal appropriately with the uncertainty of future developments and the at times limited data situation, e.g. on water consumption and availability? These questions were addressed by the partners of the Ladenburg research group “Future Water Conflicts in Germany (ZuWaKo)” at a project meeting at the Daimler and Benz Foundation in Ladenburg from 20-21.02.2024. The project was supported by the members of its advisory board Prof’in. Dr. Martina Flörke (Ruhr University Bochum), Dr. Ines Dombrowski (IDOS, Bonn), Prof’in. Dr. Vanessa Schweizer (University of Waterloo, Canada), PD Dr. Hagen Koch (PIK Potsdam) and Christoph Jeromin (Bodenseewasserversorgung). Following an overview of the status of the project, the doctoral students presented their work on conflicting objectives in catchment areas, irrigation conflicts in climate adaptation, and water conflicts in the transformation of post-mining landscapes and discussed these in a poster session. The game models developed for these three topics were then jointly tested and evaluated in several rounds of serious gaming and further development steps were discussed.
©Daimler and Benz Foundation_Oestergaard: ZuWaKo partners and members of the support group in front of the water tower in Ladenburg