Abstract for: Conserving Paradise Simulation and simulator training

The Conserving Paradise Simulation is a simulation-based role-play on the tension between tourism growth and environmental degradation in Small Island Development States (SIDS) with a freely available SD model. Tourism fuels economic growth, but the resulting solid waste and other pollutants threaten the SIDS’ natural beauty and economic success, residents’ quality of life, and tourists’ attractiveness. In this simulation-based roleplay, participants assess the tension between tourism-driven economic growth and environmental degradation from a limits-to-growth perspective, developing a systems-based understanding of the problem using the Maldives as a case study. Participants take on the roles of stakeholders, such as the Maldives government, the tourism industry, local environmental activists, etc., and negotiate the future development of the Maldives. The role-play helps participants explore and test policy and investment scenarios to manage the island’s prosperity while maintaining its natural beauty. Participants learn about counterintuitive insights such as policies that focus only on better waste management are short-lived, because they eventually increase tourism, growth, and consequently waste generation, which in the long-term undermines attractiveness and growth. Policies that limit tourism demand have the potential to improve economic and environmental health. Participants in the workshop will learn to lead the game effectively.