Gender, land use and role playing games

Abstract

I n land use role-playing games (RPGs), players assume roles or characters and take control of their real-life roles/characters in a fictional setting. The RPG approach was used to observe and document the behaviour of men and women toward land use decision-making in rubber agroforest landscapes in Sumatra, Indonesia. Behaviour patterns toward alternative land use options and new investment opportunities such as oil palm or rubber monoculture plantations were explored. The game, which can be played by women-only, male-only, or mixed group, was used to answer the following key questions: �?� How do men and women differ in land use perspectives? �?� How do men and women differ in their land use decisions where competing agents are promoting either conversion or conservation? �?� How are land use decisions made? Moreover, the RPG method can be used to validate the results generated by the Agent-Based Model discussed in the next paper