Supporting conservation by playing a game? Seriously?

With 3 short expert talks we remind that “wicked problems” for sustainable management can be rooted in factors with synergies and at scales that go beyond the ability of individual stakeholder groups to be solved. We highlight the relevance of diversity: the role of men & women from diverse social, political & economic background in a society living in and depending from a landscape. We explain the challenge of giving all relevant players, specifically marginalized groups, Indigenous Peoples, local communities a voice. On the example of a successful multi-stakeholder working group in the Congo basin we show how demand for forest management certification created an enormous convening power, and how playing a game helped to overcome challenges of the diverse actors to create a balance btw using and conserving nature. ¾ of the session time participanpts actively engage in a facilitated game to identify rules of power play, need for timely information shared with all relevant actors.