Two day course in Brisbane at the University of Queensland
Marxan (Ian Ball and Hugh Possingham, 2000) is a software program used to support the design of marine and terrestrial reserves worldwide. Using Marxan, conservation planners can identify an efficient system of conservation sites that include a suite of biodiversity targets at a minimal cost. Marxan provides a unique method for designing reserves that is systematic and repeatable.
It is the most utilized conservation planning tool worldwide; over 60 countries, 1100 users, and 600 organizations use Marxan to support the design of terrestrial and marine reserves. For example, it has been used to help zone the Great Barrier Marine Park, design marine reserves in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, and set spatial priorities in the Romanian Carpathians to protect large carnivores. Marxan is available at no charge from The Spatial Ecology Lab: Download Marxan Software.
Course Description
This hands-on course provided participants with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to use Marxan in a conservation planning exercise. During the 2-day course, the following was covered:
- Key concepts in systematic conservation planning
- Creation of planning units
- Creating the essential Marxan input files
- Parameter setting in Marxan
- Understanding and using Marxan results
The course time was split between lecture (~30%) and hands-on exercises (~70%). Each participant will have access to a computer equipped with Marxan and ArcGIS. The course is partially supported by the CERF funded Australian Environmental Decision Analysis hub (AEDA) and the Australian Government Natural Heritage Trust (NHT).
Course Instructors
All instructors were based at The University of Queensland’s Ecology Centre in The Spatial Ecology Laboratory (http://www.uq.edu.au/spatialecology/).
Prerequisites
Participants were required to have basic technical knowledge of excel and ArcGIS/ArcInfo.
Courses were conducted in English.
Course Material for Download
| Course Handbooks |
Manual for the course. |
| Presentations |
Course presentations |
| Course folder |
Materials needed to follow course manual. |
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Download from the "Marxan Software" web page. The package includes Marxan.exe and the Marxan user manual.
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This is commercial software that has some free features. We use only the free features during the course.
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Follow the links and instructions to download JNCC1 and JNCC2 on the Marxan page "Creating the boundary file".
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