Three day course July 4-6, 2012 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
Trainers in training must attend and act as teaching assisstants in an Introduction to Marxan course. In this follow-up training, the new teaching manual will be reviewed with open discussion about teaching techniques, tips and pitfalls to be avoided. At the end of this course, instructors will be recognized by the University of Queensland Ecology Center and PacMARA as trained to teach entry level Marxan courses.
Prerequisites
Those wishing to become Marxan trainers must:
- Have completed at least one Marxan-based project from start to finish.
- Know how to construct Marxan databases in several different ways.
- Be very proficient in ArcGIS and Excel
- Be familiar with the Systematic Conservation Planning literature
- Courses are conducted in English.
The course is partially supported by the Australian Research Council funded Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED) and the National Environmental Research Program (NERP) funded Environmental Decisions Hub.
Course Instructors
All instructors are based at The University of Queensland’s Ecology Centre in The Spatial Ecology Laboratory (http://www.uq.edu.au/spatialecology/).
- Matt Watts, Research Associate
- Jutta Beher, Research Associate
- Rebecca Runting, Research Associate
Cost
Special rates apply- please contact Matt Watts for details.
Please fill in the registration form below to enroll. You will be sent a confirmation of your place in the course shortly after you register.