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Table 12.3 Classification of type of participation in various stages of the NimetPasleFeu experi-
ment
Involvement Heterogeneity nb
Preliminary diagnosis Consultation Individuals 10
Data collecting Consultation Individuals 3
Conceptual model designing Co-design Heterogeneous group 14
Implementing Information Individuals 2
Calibrating and validating Co-thinking Heterogeneous group 14
Role-playing game designing Co-design Heterogeneous group 14
RPG playing and debriefing Co-decision-making Heterogeneous group 30
Getting self sufficient Information Individuals 3

The AtollGame experiment aims at providing the relevant information to the
local actors, including institutional and local community representatives, in order to
facilitate dialogue and to help devise together sustainable and equitable water man-
agement practices. Knowledge elicitation techniques as well as multi-agent-based
simulations (MABS) coupled with a role-playing game have been implemented to
fulfil this aim. In order to collect, understand and merge viewpoints coming from
different stakeholders, the following 5-stage methodology is applied: (1) collecting
local and expert knowledge, (2) blending the different viewpoints into a game-
based model, (3) playing the game with the different stakeholders, (4) formalising
the different scenarios investigated in computer simulations and (5) exploring the
simulated outcomes with the different stakeholders (Dray et al. 2006).
Initial knowledge elicitation (stages 1 and 2) relies on three successive methods.
First, a Global Targeted Appraisal focuses on social group leaders in order to collect
different standpoints and their articulated mental models. These collective models
are partly validated through Individual Activities Surveys focusing on behavioural
patterns of individual islanders. Then, these individual representations are merged
into one collective model using qualitative analysis techniques. This conceptual
model is further simplified in order to create a computer-assisted role-playing game
(AtollGame). The range of contrasted viewpoints confirms the need for an effective
consultation and engagement of the local population in the design of future water
management schemes in order to warrant the long-term sustainability of the system.
Clear evidence of the inherent duality between land and water use rights on the one
hand and between water exploitation and distribution on the other hand provides
essential features to frame the computer-assisted role-playing game.
The assistance of a computer is needed as far as interactions between groundwa-
ter dynamics and surface water balance involve complex spatial and time-dependent
interactions (Perez et al. 2003). The use of agent-based modelling (ABM) enables
us to take full advantage of the structure of the conceptual model. We developed the
AtollGame simulator with the CORMAS© platform (Bousquet et al. 1998). 1

1 More details about the AtollGame can be found online at http://cormas.cirad.fr/en/applica/
atollGame.htm.