Active Learning for Understanding Land Degradation: African Catchment Game and Riskmap

Land degradation is the result of the intersection of a complex set of biophysical and socio‐economic factors. The capacity of an individual or community to address land degradation is likewise constrained. While it is quite possible for professionals and learners to grasp the main issues around land degradation from a theoretical perspective, internalising the reality of what it means to be the resource degrader is more difficult. We have developed two active learning methods that aim to address this problem. The first is the African Catchment Game, a role‐playing game based on Graham Chapman's Green Revolution Game, adapted for the southern Africa context and incorporating a land degradation component. In this game participants play out the complex dynamics of rural‐urban‐global linkages against a background of environmental hazards. The second is based on Save the Children Fund's RiskMap computer simulation that models risk in terms of rural livelihoods for different income groups. Ethiopia is used as the example. This paper evaluates the two active learning techniques as tools for exploring the relationships between land degradation and poverty through an evaluation of participants’ experiences. The analysis shows clear potential for developing alternative teaching curricula that are aligned to our theoretical understanding.