1994 INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM DYNAMICS CONFERENCE
ECOMAN - An Environmental Management Simulation Game
Paula Antunes, Rui Santos, Luis Jordao, Helder Alves and Joao Pedro Rodrigues
Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering
College of Sciences and Technology
New University of Lisbon
Quinta da Torre
2825 Monte da Caparica
Portugal
Abstract
Environmental management is a complex dynamic process, which involves taking decisions regarding
different environmental components and socio-economic agents. Within this context, simulation
games are an extremely powerful learning tool, allowing the decision maker (player) to formulate and
test the results obtained with the implementation of alternative environmental management strategies,
which is often impossible to perform in real situations.
ECOMAN is a simulation game, where the players are environmental managers who are responsible
for a region, trying to cope with the different agents, media and uses in order to achieve
environmental quality and social welfare objectives.
The player has a limited budget to allocate to several environmental management tasks, which is
dependent on the health of the economy of the region. Each year a score is computed taking into
account environmental quality, service levels and economic activity.
The game is based on a system dynamics model developed in STELLA II, simulating the major
interactions between the socio-economic and the environmental system. The model was implemented
with a multimedia interface integrating numerical, graphical and qualitative information using
Supercard and Quicktime for the display of video images.
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1994 INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM DYNAMICS CONFERENCE
ECOMAN — An Environmental Management Simulation Game
1. INTRODUCTION
The goal of environmental management is the compatibilization of economic development object
with the preservation of environmental quality, through the adoption of management meas
designed to mitigate the environmental effects of human activities. This is a very complex proc
because it involves taking into account the complete environmental cycle associated with «
problem, in order to select the optimal point of intervention (Adriaanse ef al, 1989; Moffatt, 1990)
Environmental management is therefore a very complex dynamic process, which involves tal
decisions regarding different environmental components and socio-economic agents. Simula
games are an extremely powerful learning tool for environmental managers, allowing the deci
maker (player) to formulate and test the results obtained with the implementation of alterne
strategies, which is often impossible to perform in real world situations.
The utilization of games as a learning tool can be said to be a direct application of the Confu
quote:
"You hear, you forget,
you read, you remember,
you do, you understand"
As a matter of fact, it is generally acknowledged that human beings learn best through first h
experience, by trial and error (Senge, 1990). The problems with experiencing in real world situat
in environmental systems are related with the fact that, since they are usually complex systems,
consequences (feedback) from our actions are neither immediate nor unambiguous, being ofter
removed in time and space (Senge, 1990). On the other hand, the consequences of our experiet
can sometimes be rather damaging if they are performed in a real environmental system.
Games allow players the possibility to try in a simulated model of a system, thus learning thro
experience. System dynamics models, implemented as microworlds for play, are an ideal tool for
purpose, since they are a simplified version of the real.system, compressing time and space,
therefore allowing the establishment of a relation between the actions (decisions) of the player and
behavior of the system. They also have the advantage of avoiding the cost of failed experiments.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME
ECOMAN is a simulation game, where the players are environmental managers who are respons
for a region, trying to cope with the different agents, media and uses in order to achieve maxi
environmental quality and social welfare objectives.
The objective of this game is to give the player an understanding of the major interactions betw
the socio-economic and the environmental systems in a region. The major components of the sox
economic sub-system are urban centers (with population), industries and agriculture. °
environmental sub-system is described in terms of the quality of its components (air, water and sc
and in terms of pollution control structures such as wastewater treatment plants and sanitary landfi
The beginning scenario of ECOMAN consists of the description of a region with two urban cen
located in different points of the region, with the corresponding population and service levels v
sanitation facilities. The region has already some industries, namely dairy production, pig raisi
fertilizers, and textiles, which are characterized in terms of location, production, employment, :
generation of liquid effluents, air emissions and solid waste. There are also some agricultural area
the region, which are described in terms of occupied area, production, employment and_ aver.
consumption of fertilizers and pesticides. The player has also information regarding the capacity
existing water supply systems, wastewater treatment plants and sanitary landfills.
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1994 INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM DYNAMICS CONFERENCE
The player has a limited budget which he must allocate every year to several environmental
management tasks. Every year (iteration) the player has to take decisions regarding:
~ Industrial licensing in the region;
- Investment in wastewater collection and treatment facilities;
- Effluent discharge taxes and taxes for the utilization of treatment facilities,
- Investment in urban solid waste collection and disposal facilities;
~ Investment in urban solid waste recycling programs;
- Pesticides and fertilizers application standards.
The budget that is available for investment every year is dependent on the health of the economy of
the region, which in turn is dependent on his decisions regarding industrial licensing, taxes applied
and pesticides and fertilizers application standards.
Each year a score is computed by calculating a weighted average of three categories:
- Environmental quality (which has a weight of 0.4 in the final score) is defined by an indice
taking into account water, air and soil quality, with equal weights. Water quality is calculated as a
function of the BOD of the stream, air quality is evaluated through the emissions generated, and
soil quality is assessed by the percentage of contaminated soils in the region.
~ Service levels, with a weight of 0.3 in the final score is measured in terms of population served
with water supply (0.4), wastewater drainage and treatment (0.3) and collection and final disposal
of solid waste (0.3).
- Economic activity indice, which accounts for 0.3 of the final score, and is computed considering
the variables employment (0.5), industrial income (0.25) and agricultural income (0.25).
After the decisions have been entered, the score is computed as well as the state of the region in the
beginning of the following iteration (year).
3. SYSTEM DYNAMICS MODEL
ECOMAN is based on a system dynamics model developed in STELLA II, simulating the major
interactions between the socio-economic and the environmental system. Figure 1 shows a causal
diagram showing the major interactions of the system dynamics model underlying ECOMAN.
The interactions in this diagram are quite straightforward: industrial, agricultural and population
growth contribute to the resources available for investment in environmental control, and also to the
economic activity indice of the region, but also contribute to environmental quality degradation, thus
lowering the score of the manager.
On the other hand, the more money is invested in environmental control systems and recycling
programs, the better the environmental quality and the population service levels, and therefore the
better the score. Decisions regarding effluent discharge taxes and pesticides and fertilizers application
standards do not have a direct cost. but have negative effects in industrial and agricultural production
respectively.
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1994 INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM DYNAMICS CONFERENCE
+
Pollution
Taxes he
Qualit
Wastewater
Treatment
Suonly Water
(> als 1
+V Was ulation
Available Environmental
Res, s + + lity
Ce Soil ae
solid : a aa
Recycling —> Was
+ Soil
Quality
Sanitary
Landfills
Agricultu
Figure | - Causal diagram
The general equations of the model were defined using emission/utilization factors and relyir
graphical functions to establish ill-defined relations, such as effects between variables. For inst.
the soil contamination process and its effects in agricultural production are modeled in STELL
shown in Figure 2.
Contaminated soils
Soil contamination
Integrated protection
Ef contamination
Soils
Waste without disposal
{nd solid waste,
Ef pesticide
Ind waste prod Pesticites
Dairy production
Agricultural area
Fertizers
asm Pest & fert standards
Leather indusines
Pig raising
Figure 2 - Soil contamination and agriculture sector of ECOMAN
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1994 INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM DYNAMICS CONFERENCE
The game was implemented based on a system dynamics model developed with STELLA for which
an interface was built using Supercard™ and Quicktime for the display of video images. The adoption
of a hypermedia philosophy allowed the compatibilization of the need to have a simple interface, so
that the player can focus on the fundamental aspects of the game, with the need to add real world
details and fun, which was achieved by the integration of graphs, maps and video frames.
Preliminary versions of the game have been played by students of the Environmental Engineering
Undergraduate Program with a considerable success.
REFERENCES
Adriaanse, A.; Jeltes, R.; Reiling, R.; 1989, Information Requirements of Integrated Environmental
Policy Experiences in the Netherlands, Environmental Management, 13, 3, 309-315.
High Performance Systems Inc.; 1993, STELLA II, Hanover.
Moffatt, I.; 1990; The Potentialities and Problems Associated with Applying Information Technology
to Environmental Management, Journal of Environmental Management , 30, 209-220.
Senge, P. M., 1990; The Fifth Discipline. The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization,
Doubleday Currency, New York.
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1994 INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM DYNAMICS CONFERENCE
The problem of the different time scales associated with some environmental processes, such as water
quality in a river, where the transport of a pollutant downstream is a matter of hours, and the time step
of the decisions of game, which is one year, was dealt by considering water pollution as a converter,
varying instantaneously, instead of being a stock, which is its "real" nature. Therefore, the different
stretches of the river existing in the region are represented as converters, instead of stocks, and the
flows between them are represented as information rather than material flows.
4, IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GAME
ECOMAN was implemented with a multimedia interface integrating numerical, graphical and
qualitative information using Supercard™ and Quicktime™ for the display of video images. This
interface was designed relying on the hypermedia principles of organization of information, keeping
decision and results screens as simple as possible, and giving additional information to the user only
when it was requested.
Figures 3 and 4 show the major information and decision sheets of ECOMAN. They both consist
mainly on text fields where information is displayed, on buttons where decisions and/or requests are
entered.
% File Windows
Figure 3 - Global information screen
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1994 INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM DYNAMICS CONFERENCE
Fil} Windows
Figure 4 - Decision sheet
In the global information sheet the player has information regarding the values of the indic
economic activity, environmental quality and service levels, as well as information regarding the
important stocks of the system: population, industry and agriculture. By clicking some o
information boxes the player can have access to further information. The score window, which c
displayed at any time, shows the score and the financial resources available for investment, as w
amap of the region which can be zoomed in to have a more detailed view.
The decision sheet consists of a series of handles where the player indicates his decisions, in tert
investment and standards established, on the several sectors: water pollution, solid wast:
pollution, sanitation levels and soil contamination. The decision sheet has also a list of industrie:
have requested an installation license, and the manager must decide which ones are authorizec
clicking on the name of each industry the player can have information regarding the characteristi
the industry, namely its production, employment and generation of pollution.
After the decisions for one year have been entered, the values for next year are computed an
results displayed in a new information window.
5. CONCLUSIONS
As stated above games are an ideal learning tool for complex systems, such as environm
systems, where the consequences (feedback) from the actions of a decision maker can not be
assessed directly. ECOMAN is a game designed to provide insights on the interactions betwee
economic and the environmental system, which is fundamental for the success of any environm
management effort or strategy.
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