Waeber, P.O.; Melnykovych, M.; Riegel, E.; Chongong, L.V.; Lloren, R.; Raher, J.; Reibert, T.; Zaheen, M.; Soshenskyi, O.; Garcia, C.A. Fostering Innovation, Transition, and the Reconstruction of Forestry: Critical Thinking and Transdisciplinarity in Forest Education with Strategy Games. Forests2023, 14, 1646.
Waeber, P.O.; Melnykovych, M.; Riegel, E.; Chongong, L.V.; Lloren, R.; Raher, J.; Reibert, T.; Zaheen, M.; Soshenskyi, O.; Garcia, C.A. Fostering Innovation, Transition, and the Reconstruction of Forestry: Critical Thinking and Transdisciplinarity in Forest Education with Strategy Games. Forests 2023, 14, 1646.
Waeber, P.O.; Melnykovych, M.; Riegel, E.; Chongong, L.V.; Lloren, R.; Raher, J.; Reibert, T.; Zaheen, M.; Soshenskyi, O.; Garcia, C.A. Fostering Innovation, Transition, and the Reconstruction of Forestry: Critical Thinking and Transdisciplinarity in Forest Education with Strategy Games. Forests2023, 14, 1646.
Waeber, P.O.; Melnykovych, M.; Riegel, E.; Chongong, L.V.; Lloren, R.; Raher, J.; Reibert, T.; Zaheen, M.; Soshenskyi, O.; Garcia, C.A. Fostering Innovation, Transition, and the Reconstruction of Forestry: Critical Thinking and Transdisciplinarity in Forest Education with Strategy Games. Forests 2023, 14, 1646.
Abstract
Forest education is pivotal for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and promoting sustainable forest management in the face of global challenges. However, existing programs struggle to keep up with rapidly changing crises and uncertainties that contribute to deforestation and forest degradation. To address these challenges, integrating innovative approaches into forest education is crucial. This paper demonstrates the transformative use of a role-playing game as an innovative teaching method for integrated forest management. The game provides students with practical experience and a comprehensive understanding of landscape approaches, using the Congo Basin as a case study. Our research focuses on sustainable forest governance, stakeholder roles, and valuing natural assets and ecosystem services, supporting the transformation of economic, political, and social/cultural relationships at various scales. We highlight the potential of innovative forest education to foster sustainability, trigger critical thinking, resolve conflicts, and prevent costly forest losses.
Keywords
forest education; innovations in teaching; transformative learning; strategy games; sustainable forest landscape governance; social innovation
Subject
Social Sciences, Education
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.