Work package 3: Understanding embedded present day delta knowledges and practices (led by France)
WP3 aims to understand the way decision-making on delta governance takes place in the deltas as it happens. It examines the interplay between knowledge systems and strategies of ‘in delta’ actors (farmers, planners, engineers and foreign industrial investors) around natural resources use, existing infrastructures of land and water control, and the interventions and objectives introduced from global knowledge and development networks. WP3 will zoom in on the Irrawaddy and Chao Phraya deltas, where participatory modelling activities will be conducted. Apart from the scientific interest in studying such contrasting deltas, this choice is supported by the presence of at least two members of the research team (including the French principal investigator) in Thailand and possibly Myanmar from 2016 onwards. WP3 will unravel ‘governance in practice’ and highlight points of confluence and divergence with the dynamics and contents of western knowledge generation and travels studied in WP1 and WP3. This will lay the ground for a synthesis on the knowledge hybridisation done in WP4
3.1 Multilevel characterisation of deltas (France/NL)
This will involve (1) identifying major (past, present and envisioned) development projects and management plans, (2) characterising the agricultural systems and the water regimes of the deltas; (3) mapping the network of actors involved in making decisions on the management of deltas and identifying related overlap, conflicting mandates, and institutional gaps. This benchmarking will lay the ground for informing future interventions in delta governance.
3.2 Design of a participatory modelling approach (France)
In this activity, we make use of and test a participatory modelling method called Companion Modelling where simulation tools (role playing games and possibly computer models) are developed by multiple actors to support changes in natural resources management decision- making (Etienne 2011). In each focus delta, a multi-layered participatory strategy will be developed around a ‘problemshed’ identified as relevant in 3.1, to understand the strategies and knowledge systems different actors use to address it. The participatory strategy involves the development of a role-playing game that will offer the opportunity to discuss (1) the ways flood- prevention areas are delineated and rules for their utilisation and management elaborated, (2) land-planning processes, and (3) the extent to which knowledge generated by hydrological models is mobilised for decision making ? and by whom. The role playing game will be developed so that it can be used at different nested scales (a group of communities, a sub- region of the delta, a delta as a whole). The scale of study will be determined together with participants and may evolve as the project is implemented.
3.3 Implementation of modelling approach (France/NL)
A series of multi-stakeholder meetings will allow refining the role playing game, the problemshed around which it is developed and the scale at which it is implemented. Three meetings will be implemented in each of the deltas, so that commonalities and differences in delta knowledge and modes of management can be highlighted and discussed. We will complement the participatory meetings with in-depth case studies in specific sub-regions of the deltas. The participatory approach will allow for obtaining information on experiences and knowledges of environmental uncertainties and natural resources management. We will also trace the influence of knowledge and development brokers, as well as the capabilities and strategies of multiple actors to influence decision-making.
3.4 Confronting travel cases (1.2;1.3;1.4;1.5) with destinations (all)
The participatory strategy and the role playing game will be informed by an activity dedicated to studying what happens when the models and planning approaches largely designed ‘outside’ the deltas (WPs 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5) ‘hit the ground’. For instance, we will study how models such as PRECIS and the MIKE series as well as delta development plans and new rice cultivation strategies, are used ? and consequently partly reframed ? by in-delta stakeholders. ]