Allocation of land resources in semi-arid areas: a simulation based on the East African experience

This paper describes a simulation game prepared as an exercise for a course entitled 'Arid and Semi-arid Lands, their Status and Potential' which the authors taught in the Department of Geography of the University of Nairobi during the 1977 - 78 academic year. The simulation was intended to tie together the socio-economic and the physical aspects of arid and semiarid areas. It is concerned with the problem of land allocation in a situation where there is land-use conflict. The participants are divided into groups of farmers and pastoralists and are required to adjudicate the land in a manner acceptable to the government. The problem is complicated by a government proposal to set up a national park in the area. The subject of the simulation is relevant not only to students of arid and sami-arid areas, but also to those interested in resource management in developing countries. Sufficient information is given in this paper to allow the reader to set up the simulation.