Cormas: The Software for Participatory Modelling and its Application for Managing Natural Resources in Senegal

Abstract: Cormas is an agent-based simulation platform developed in the late 90s by the Green research at CIRAD unit to support the management of natural resources and understand the interactions between natural and social dynamics. This platform is well-suited for a participatory simulation approach that empowers local stakeholders by including them in all modelling and knowledge-sharing steps. In this short paper, we present the Cormas platform and discuss its unique features and their importance for the participatory simulation approach. We then present the early results of our ongoing study on managing pastoral resources in the Sahel region, identify the problems faced by local stakeholders, and discuss the potential use of Cormas at the next stage of our study to collectively model and understand the effective ways of managing the shared agro-sylvo-pastoral resources.