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Le partage de l'eau d'irrigation est souvent l'objet de négociations entre des acteurs ayant des connaissances de natures différentes : chercheurs et acteurs locaux, irrigants et gestionnaires. La construction d'accords sur les modalités de gestion de la ressource doit alors s'appuyer sur une traduction des connaissances et des cadres de référence de ces acteurs hétérogènes. Dans cette perspective, nous nous intéressons dans cet article au rôle d'" objets frontières ", ayant un sens différent dans différents mondes sociaux, mais suffisamment rigides pour conserver une identité propre. Ce cadre théorique est mis à l'épreuve par l'analyse d'une expérimentation de modélisation d'accompagnement menée au Bhoutan et reposant sur des jeux de rôles. Le suivi des sessions de jeu permet d'expliciter les frontières entre un groupe de scientifiques et deux groupes d'irrigants et de rendre compte des processus de traduction qui s'y opèrent. Ces informations peuvent être mobilisées en pratique pour la coconstruction de nouvelles règles d'usage de l'eau pour une gestion adaptative de cette ressource.

Agronomic problems tend to become more complex and their solution found at the interface between agro-ecological and social dynamics. They involve an increased diversity of actors having different objectives, strategies and perceptions of the issue depending on their type of knowledge and empirical experience. In this context the transfer of technology method does not operate anymore. There is a need for innovative approaches linking researchers, extension agents and farmers in a more inclusive and adaptive fashion. The two-way exchange and integration of different (scientific, technical, expert, empirical, indigenous, institutional) types of knowledge among stakeholders to facilitate the emergence of a shared understanding of the problem to be solved is widely considered as a necessary step before launching a joint search for innovative solutions acceptable to all parties involved. A collaborative modelling process was carried out for such a purpose in the rainfed lowland rice (RLR) socio-ecological system of northeast Thailand. In this largest RLR producing region of the country, the low average yield (1.8 t/ha) is mainly due to erratic rainfall distribution and coarse textured soils, leading to low farm incomes and the highest poverty rate in the kingdom. Seasonal or more permanent migrations of young labourers have long been a key farmer strategy to mitigate climatic risk and diversify sources of income. Seasonal migrants move during the dry season, but stay on the farm during wet months to participate in RLR transplanting and harvesting. The current higher mobility of farm workers and increase in permanent migrations create labour scarcity on large rice farms during peaks of labour demand periods. A regional plan for major investments in irrigation infrastructures underlines the importance of understanding how increased water availability could impact on current migration patterns. The objectives were (i) to understand the relationships between land & water use and labour migrations and (ii) to test a participatory modelling approach to facilitate dialogue among research, extension and diverse types of farmers while enhancing the capacity of expression of the marginal farmers, knowledge integration, joint learning, and the collective identification, simulation and assessment of scenarios of change.

The trans-disciplinary companion modeling (ComMod) approach for adaptive renewable resource management aims to facilitate knowledge integration, collective learning, creative negotiation, and institutional innovation about concrete problems faced by communities In this paper, we compare the effects of different ComMod processes on collective water management at five sites located in northeast and northern Thailand, and west-central Bhutan. At the three highland sites, agricultural commercialization leads stakeholders to review the loca/ water management rules while in Northeastern Thailand land/water management dynamics are interlinked with labor migrations and the market integration of farming activities The main effects of the ComMod processes at these sites are analyzed based on a common framework focusing on the stimulated processes of individual and collective learning, communication, negotiation, and coordinated action. The following effects are documented: individual learning about current situation, increased awareness of a collective problem, understanding each other's perceptions, reaching a common agreement on the problem, exploration of new water management rules, implementation of new practices, and institutional innovation. The discussion focuses on how methodological choices made in the implementation of ComMod influenced the observed effects. The factors contributing to, or limiting, the achievement of institutional innovation are underlined, in particular the role of the local institutional context and the possibility to establish inter-institutional dialogue among multiple levels of organization are highlighted. finally, we point out the need for specific monitoring and evaluation procedures adapted to such highly interactive and adaptive processes.

Northeast Thailand has the largest rainfed lowland rice (RLR) ecosystem in the kingdom and is notoriously known for its high rate of poor smallholders. The unstable rice productivity as a consequence of an unfavourable ecological environment (erratic rainfall and infertile soils) interacting with low price of rice drives these poor people to migrate for more profitable employment leaving often their land and its water underused. During the last 15 years, small water resource improvement programs launched by the Thai government under its poverty alleviation agenda had limited success. Labour migration is an adaptive strategy to cope with the uncertainty of rainfall and its distribution. As a consequence, off-farm employment becomes a more and more important source of income. But the relationship between labour migrations and land and water management on the farms is still poorly documented. Therefore, we used the Companion Modelling (ComMod) approach to improve the understanding of this key interaction and to reinforce stakeholders' adaptive capacity to deal with uncertainty linked to water dynamics and labour management in the Lam Dome Yai watershed of Ubon Ratchathani Province. ComMod facilitates dialogue, shared learning, and collective decision-making to strengthen the adaptive management capacity of local communities through integrative collaborative modelling. The cyclic ComMod process is made of iterative loops comprising field investigations, modelling, and participatory simulations relying on the combinations of Role-Playing Games (RPG) and Agent-Based Models (ABM) used with stakeholders. In this case study, 5 ComMod loops were carried out to better understand the problem being examined, stimulate exchange of points of view and enhance the creativity of the participants while lessening the black box effect of computer models. The key processes embedded in the models are based on stakeholders' decision-making driven by human-environment interactions. We take into account the diversity of farm types with their specific strategies and means of productions. The RPG and the ABM represent this diversity as rule-based agents (local farmers) managing this specific RLR ecosystem. The RPG mainly helped the stakeholders to understand the rules and sequence of ABM simulation while the ABM helped the stakeholders to better understand self-situation and examined causes of actions of other players. The ABM is used to identify the scenarios with local farmers, and simulated for discovery learning towards to desirable scenarios. The communication presents and discusses the various effects of this participatory modeling and simulation process on the different components of farmers' adaptive capacity: learning and understanding the problem, capacity and network building through social learning, and new behaviours and practices such as more cash crops the dry season when additional water is available by very small farming households. The preliminary results of scenarios simulated with farmers are also discussed. In conclusion we explain how the outcomes of such a ComMod process could be used to inform water policies at the regional level.

An Agent-Based Model (ABM) was co-designed with local rice farmers to represent the human-environment interactions between land/water use and labor management. A rainfed area of Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand was the study site. This ABM evolved along a Companion Modeling (ComMod) process to integrate the research team¿s scientific point of view with the local farmers¿ desired development outcomes. The model consists of four interacting components: Climate, Hydrology, Household, and Rice. The "Household" is a rule-based agent that makes daily decisions on the different stages of rice production including water and labor availability. Four main rice decision-making processes are modeled: i) nursery establishment, ii) transplanting, iii) harvesting, and iv) post harvest decisions including labor migration. The toposequence of lower to upper paddies and types of land use (water bodies, human settlement, paddy fields) are defined in model¿s spatial settings. The paper describes the structure of key decision-making algorithms implemented in this ABM. The participatory use of this model to facilitate the discovery and assessment of different water and labor availability scenarios is also explained. The impact of such scenarios on farming practices and labor management is also analyzed and discussed.

Water management problems tend to be complex and take place in rapidly changing and uncertain realities. A growing number of stakeholders are involved with own interest and perceptions of the problem at stake. Their points of view are legitimate and need to be incorporated through mediation and negotiation. The approach needs to reconcile ecological and social dynamics, improve collective learning, coordination mechanisms, and stakeholders¿ capacity for adaptive management.

Decentralization of renewable resource management provides an opportunity for local stakeholders to increase their participation in decisions affecting them. Research should propose adapted methodologies and tools enabling the numerous stakeholders of complex socio-ecosystems to identify and discuss about possible solutions to their common problems. We show that in participatory modelling processes, simple models can be as useful as comprehensive and sophisticated ones to accommodate multiple interests among stakeholders, on the condition that the modelling and simulating process itself is carefully participatory, i.e. pays much attention to the initial socio-political context in which this participatory modelling process takes place to ensure the genuine participation of all concerned stakeholders (including the usually voiceless and ressource-poor ones). This assumption is discussed by drawing on a Companion Modelling (ComMod) experiment on water management in a Northern Thailand highland community. The basic principle of the ComMod approach is to develop simple simulation models integrating different stakeholders¿ points of view on the problem at stake, and to use them in communication platforms to explore and discuss collectively various scenarios for the future. By combining a preliminary analysis of the heterogeneous socio-political context with a very simple Agent-Based Model, a Role-Playing Game, individual interviews, and group debates, this ComMod process was efficient at stimulating collective learning and coordination among multiple stakeholders exploring pathways to solve their common water use problem.

International audience; In the highlands of northern Thailand, ethnic minorities are accused by lowlanders of aggravating the risk of soil erosion on steep slopes through recent land use changes. Government authorities have threatened to further restrict their access to farm land. But whether this risk is increasing or not, and how to prevent this problem are complex questions. In the recent past, an impressive amount of research efforts to control soil erosion led to limited success and highlighted the need for more integrated approaches to deal with this problem. Soil and water conservation is embedded in complex eco-socio systems, with numerous interacting ecological and social dynamics, and an increasing number of stakeholders with different interests and perceptions. Companion Modelling (ComMod) is an emerging approach designed to facilitate collective learning in such complex systems. By combining tools such as Multi-Agent Systems and Role Playing Games, it aims at developing simulation models integrating different stakeholders' perceptions to use them within the context of platforms for collective learning. A ComMod process has been tested since 2002 in an Akha village of upper northern Thailand to examine collectively the interactions between soil and water conservation, agricultural diversification, and social equity. The objective of this paper is to present the way a shared representation and understanding of the problem and its key dynamics is achieved, and how it can be used to support collective learning. It describes the concrete use of the ComMod approach with Akha villagers and illustrates how farmers' interest shifts along the learning process from agronomic concerns (soil erosion) to socioeconomic mechanisms (allocation of rural credit to invest in non-erosive perennial crops). The flexibility and adaptive characteristics of the approach are highlighted as they fit with the evolving nature of collective learning processes. The paper ends with suggestions on how to improve the ComMod process by establishing a dialogue with higher levels of organization to sustain the dynamics emerging at the village level.

The purpose of the interdisciplinary Companion Modelling (ComMod) approach in renewable resource management is to facilitate collective learning, negotiation, and institutional innovation about concrete problems faced by rural communities. The objective of this communication is to present and to compare the effects of the ComMod approach on collective water management at three different pilot sites located in upper northern Thailand (two sites) and west-central Bhutan. At these sites, water management is a cross-cutting problem: the processes of agricultural commercialization and increased pressure on the land led to the need for stakeholders to agree on new rules for the management of limited water resources. In the Lingmuteychu watershed of Bhutan, water sharing at rice transplanting has been a perpetual issue, without a way forward, while in montane northern Thailand a looming water scarcity is linked to the increased demand from expanding irrigated horticultural cropping systems. The paper compares the way this approach was flexibly adapted and implemented at the three sites according to the local contexts. The main effects of the ComMod process at the three sites are then presented according to a common framework analysing the processes of collective learning, negotiation, and coordinated action that were stimulated. It emphasizes the following effects: learning about the current situation and awareness of a problem to be solved collectively, understanding each other's perceptions and common agreement on the nature of the problem, exploration of new management rules to solve the problem, and concrete implementation of institutional innovation. The discussion focuses on the factors contributing to, or limiting, the achievement of institutional innovation. The role of the local institutional context and the possibility to establish inter-institutional dialogue among multiple levels of organization is highlighted. Finally, we point out the need for specific monitoring & evaluation procedures adapted to such a highly participatory and adaptive process.

This contribution starts with a presentation of the LomMoa methodology ana me conceptual analytical framework of the socio-political system and its changes along the process. Then we draw a picture of the initial situation regarding water management, with a particular attention to horizontal and vertical power relations and to the role, behaviour, and accountability of local representatives. Following a description of the collective learning and negociation process triggered by ComMod, we analyze the influence of power relations in the process and their changes along it to answer the question: how far the diversity of interests (and in particular the less powerfull's ones) was taken into account in the triggered process of interactions? The article ends with a discussion on the potential and limits of the ComMod methodology for accommodating multiple interests in an equitable manner. Key methodological features favouring the leveling of the playing field are identified. In the concluding remarks, several suggestions are made to improve the ComMod methodology for such a purpose. We argue that it is necessary to conduct a preliminary analysis of the socio-political system to identify the potential constraints and pitfalls to an equitable outcome of the participatory management process, and to mitigate them. Following Webler's advice (1999), we do not only focus on "what works", but also analyse "why it works" and "how it could work better".

Le projet, entrepris dans le cadre du Programme pour relever les défis "Eau et alimentation" s'appuie sur la modélisation d'accompagnement en vue de régler les conflits que soulève l'accès à l'eau entre agriculteurs et villages au Bhutan, les tensions autour du partage des ressources en eau entre communautés situées en amont et en aval des rivières au nord de la Thaïlande, et le contentieux qui oppose riziculteurs et éleveurs de crevettes au sud du Viet Nam. La méthodologie, qui repose sur la participation, fait appel à une panoplie d'outils pour que les parties prenantes parviennent à une vision commune du problème et étudient les nouveaux scénarios de mise en partage des ressources, préparés par leurs soins.

Following a presentation of the local context, the problem, and the original characteristics of the ComMod approach, this article describes its concrete use with Akha villagers. The article explains how a shared representation of the watershed and its dynamics is achieved, and the way it supports collective learning on land management. The flexibility and adaptive characteristics of the gaming and simulation tools used with the people are highlighted as they fit with the evolving nature of coordination processes in adaptive NRM. How the focus of discussions evolved from agro-ecological to socio-economic dynamics related to soil erosion issue is also explained. Finally, preliminary lessons from this ComMod experiment are presented, as well as new perspectives for improving this approach.

Rainfed lowland rice (RLR) production is the main activity in northeast Thailand. Unpredictable droughts and coarse-textured soil are the main constraints usually cited to explain the low yields and economic poverty of this region. Past studies tried to improve the drought tolerance of rice varieties and hydrological functioning at the field level. How water is used at the farm level remains largely unknown. Consequently, it is relevant to understand the dynamic interactions between water availability and water-use in the RLR ecosystem. This article describes the development of an agent-based simulation tool based on multi-agent systems to explore adaptations of RLR cropping systems to rainfall variability. An environment representing the main biophysical entities involved in decision-making regarding water use is modeled and its hydrological functioning is verified. Preliminary simulations are presented to illustrate the model capacities. These preliminary simulations aim at evaluating the efficiency of numerous on-farm reservoirs to alleviate early drought at the vegetative stage. Simulations comparing scenarios with and without ponds show that ponds are less efficient at the beginning of the RLR cycle, when rains are still light. Pond efficiency is stable when the duration of the period separating the two peaks of RLR nursery sowings is more than 2 months. Below this threshold, ponds could not be completely refilled. The next step in the model development will consist in adding autonomous agents to simulate scenarios in which farmer agents cooperate to use water and learn collectively about its dynamics.

For coarse-textured soils of high subsoil permeability, research has demonstrated the benefits of subsoil compaction for improved water and nutrient-use efficiency in rainfed lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.). To better define soil conditions suited to this subsoil compaction, on-farm experiments were carried out on soils varying in subsoil clay content. In 1993 and 1994 rice (cv. KDML105) was grown in main plots comparing shallow dry tillage without compaction, shallow dry tillage with subsoil compaction, and deep dry tillage with subsoil compaction. Soil was compacted in seven farmers' fields in the south of Ubon Ratchathani Province, with 10 passes of a vibrating road roller on 19 and 23 May 1993. The effects of subsoil compaction on changes in soil physical and hydrological properties differed according to subsoil clay content, which ranged from 1.4% to 12.0%. Subsoil compaction decreased soil hydraulic conductivity sufficiently for fields with subsoil clay content greater than 2%. When subsoil clay content was higher than 10%, the justification for using relatively costly subsoil compaction was questionable, as the hydraulic conductiviy was already low and the gains in water-storing capacity seemed limited. Based on these results, proportions of soils with subsoils of 10% day were mapped using geographic information systems for an area of about 40,000 ha within the Ubon Ratchathani Land Reform Area. About 40% of the mapped area had subsoils with clay % between 2 and 10, suggesting that substantial areas could be suitable for subsoil compaction. More investigations are needed to assess its economic and social acceptability, to better understand variability and probability of response, and to further refine soil suitability in relation to clay type, clay content and groundwater changes at the toposequence level.

Two-factor field experiments during 1993 and 1994 with sharply contrasting wet seasons were carried out for in situ water conservation and nutrient use in rainfed lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.) grown on a sandy soil. The main plots compared subsoil compaction with shallow dry tillage (C1), subsoil compaction with deep dry tillage (C2), and shallow dry tillage without compaction (C0). Five mineral fertilization techniques were used as subplot treatments: no fertilizer (control, F0), 40-13-25 kg NPK/ha in two applications of conventional fertilizer (F1), 40-13-25 kg NPK/ha using slow-release fertilizer (F2), 80-26-50 kg NPK/ha in two applications of conventional fertilizer (F3), and 80-26-50 kg NPK/ha using slow-release fertilizer (F4). Soil was compacted with 10 passes of a vibrating road roller on 15 May 1993. Rice seedlings (cv. RD6) were transplanted in all plots. Compaction increased total weeks with surface water accumulation from 3.7 and 2.4 wk in C0 to 11.0 and 14.3 wk in C1, and 11.7 and 14.9 wk in C2 for the 1993 and 1994 wet seasons, respectively. Because three irrigations were applied during the 1993 WS, drought stress was far more severe during the nonirrigated 1994 WS. With the single exception of the effect on rice grain weight in the 1994 WS, no significant interaction between the main factors (compaction) and subfactors (fertilization) was observed. Although the highest grain production was also harvested in compacted plots in the 1993 WS, grain yield increase because of subsoil compaction was found to be significant (P

Les objectifs de l'atelier ECOR(I) sont de sensibiliser les participants potentiels à un nouveau projet sur l'approche globale de la gestion des ressources naturelles dans le bassin du Fleuve Rouge (BFR) et de mettre en place un programme de travail et des mécanismes d'exécution d'un tel projet. L'information complète des participants, la formation d'un groupe de travail et l'approbation d'une approche et d'un calendrier sont apparus comme des objectifs trop ambitieux eu égard aux changements politiques. Ce document présente les propositions de la délégation pluridisciplinaire du Cirad

Integrated watershed management means a collective management of the land reconciling ecological dynamics and social processes to ensure a sustainable and equitable use of renewable resources. Because different stakeholders have different representations of a local agricultural system, its integrated management can be seen as a collective learning process. New types of models, closely articulated with field work and other participatory tools, can be used to facilitate such collective learning. Particularly, they are useful to elucidate relationships between agent behaviors and interactions, and resource dynamics at different levels of organization. This paper describes and discusses the development and preliminary field testing of such a companion modeling approach, based on the use of multi-agent systems (MAS) associated with role playing games. Companion modeling supports on-farm, interdisciplinary and action-oriented participatory research, to facilitate dialogue, shared learning, negotiation, and collective decisionmaking among multiple stakeholders. The principles of this approach, the characteristics of agentbased models and associated role playing games are explained. Their validation and use with stakeholders to manage renewable natural resources are also presented. The article is illustrated by an on-going case study to improve steep-land management by limiting land degradation in rapidly diversifying and market integrated farming systems of Akha villages in upper northern Thailand. Field work and modeling activities are seen as very complementary, and are closely linked in an iterative way. The collective construction of a common artificial world with stakeholders leads to the emergence of a shared representation of a complex system, and of the concrete problem to be addressed. Later, such a common representation can be used among stakeholders as a coordination and negotiation support tool to identify and to assess scenarios of desirable futures. On the basis of a shared understanding of current systems dynamics, this approach helps to identify acceptable rules for an improved regulation of collective uses of land resources. When a policy of decentralization of natural resource management is implemented, companion modeling can be used to integrate knowledge, to stimulate dialogue and establish adapted coordination mechanisms regarding multiple uses of the land by multiple stakeholders, but also to assess suitable innovations and desirable scenarios of land use changes for the future.

Water is used and managed by stakeholders at different levels for diverse objectives, therefore understanding decision making and supporting coordination is crucial in achieving resilient water management. Companion Modeling (ComMod) is an interactive process facilitated by evolutionary models for knowledge generation and exchange, and for supporting collective decision-making. Role-playing games and computerized multi-agent simulations for focused group debates are complementary tools combined in a ComMod cycle and used at the field workshops. Agent-based modeling is used to understand how different processes in direct competition are coordinated, and to mediate the collective search for acceptable solutions to conflicting parties facilitated through exchanges. This paper compares the process of agent-based modeling applied in eight case studies with diverse natural and socio-economic conditions and different resource management problems in Bhutan, Thailand and Vietnam to show the creative thinking in developing and applying flexible ComMod modeling tools and provide lessons for their use in other situations.