Here at SaveWaterSaveMoney.co.uk weﾒre continuously shouting from the roof tops about water efficiency and using water effectively. Weﾒve always found saving water to be fun but are aware that this isnﾒt necessarily everyoneﾒs view! So weﾒre glad of a current trend that appears to be sweeping the world, water saving games. World Water Day which took place on March 22nd began the International Year of Water Co-operation and what better way to co-operate than playing with your friends?
In areas of the world as different as Colombia and India groups of school children and villagers are gathering for ﾑGames Nightsﾒ. Simulating real-life decision making on how to use water effectively for their villages as a whole. These are not decisions that can be made in isolation as there is a finite amount of fresh water to go around. These games are being promoted to improve collective water management by a collection of academic bodies including the Foundation for Ecological Security in India, Universidad de los Andes in Colombia and Arizona State University.
For example in India groups of five men and five women from each village must choose what to grow throughout a yearﾒs seasons with an eye toward their chosen cropsﾒ water requirements. If growing strategies use too much groundwater, the game endsﾗsimilar to real life where groundwater tables are falling, and the cost of pumping irrigation water is rising.
Here in the UK Paula Owen consulting, someone weﾒve mentioned here before, has been leading the way in this area with SE2 a sustainability ﾑleadership ledﾒ schools project to bring sustainability and water efficiency to the school children of the UK through ﾑgamificationﾒ the new buzz word in eco-efficiency.
Our opinion is this can only bring positive results. Whichever way you look at it water management and water efficiency is only going to become more important, not just here in the UK, but across the globe. Anything that can promote the sustainable use of this most precious of resources in a fun and entertaining way is definitely a positive sign for the future.