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The Pacific Marine Analysis and Research Association
Building Best Practices and Addressing
Knowledge Gaps
for Marine Planning in British Columbia
Latest News
- New! May 28th and 29th, 2009: Introduction to Marxan Course, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
The Pacific Marine Analysis & Research Association is pleased to sponsor this opportunity for EBM capacity building in our region open to anyone interested in registering.
"Marxan is a software program used to support the design of marine and terrestrial reserves worldwide (Ian Ball and Hugh Possingham, 2000). 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. 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.
This hands-on course will provide participants with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to use Marxan in a conservation planning exercise. During the course, the following will be covered:
- Key concepts in systematic conservation planning
- Creating the essential Marxan files
- Parameter setting in Marxan
- Understanding and using Marxan results
The course time will be split between lecture (~30%) and hands-on exercises (~70%).
Registration Fee: $450 until May 15; $550 until May 22. No registration after May 22
Registration: Email or telephone to Jaelithe Piccolo,
jpiccolo@pacmara.org
Phone: 250-382-8460; Fax: 250-382-8469
- New! May 26th and 27th, 2009: Marxan Good Practices Workshop (II), Vancouver, BC, Canada.
The British Columbia Marine Conservation Analysis (BCMCA) Project Team and the Pacific Marine Analysis and Research Association (PacMARA) are hosting an International Marxan Workshop in Vancouver, May 26 and 27th, 2009.This is invite based attendance.
Set in the context of the BCMCA, this workshop builds on the 2007 Marxan Good Practices workshop that led to the development of the Marxan Good Practices Handbook (MGPH; 2008). The overall goal remains to implement the recommended good practices to using tools that will help inform marine integrated decision-making. For further information on this workshop please contact the PacMARA office by phone (250-382-8460) or email jpiccolo@pacmara.org
- New Address and staff: PacMARA is pleased to announce that as of January 15, 2009 the Office has re-located to Victoria, BC. We can now be found at:
Sussex Place Suite G7
1001 Douglas Street
Victoria BC V8W 2C5
Phone: 250-382-8460
Fax: 250-382-8469
With this change of location, PacMARA would also like to welcome the addition of two new team members:
- Evert Kenk, PacMARA Program Director Evert brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the PacMARA team. Evert has over 35 years experience in the area of land and resource information, related systems management and service delivery, as well as playing lead roles in: providing overall strategic provincial direction; establishing related legislation, policy and standards; leading organizational change and establishing needed governance; and delivering and operating land-related information systems. Evert has recently retired from the Provincial Government as its Chief Resource Information Officer for the Natural Resource Sector and Executive Director of GeoBC where he was responsible for delivering corporate shared information services to natural resource sector ministries and their business and public clients.
- Jaelithe Piccolo, PacMARA AdministratorJaelithe offers a background in event planning and office management. Jaelithe has worked on a variety of large scale festivals and productions in the Victoria area. Recent experiences have brought her energy and organizational skills into the form of administrator and she is happy to join the PacMARA team to further enhance her repertoire
Marxan-related News
- Spanish translation of the Marxan Good Practices Handbook: available here for download (2.3 MB PDF) or in Word (2.5 MB)
- Spanish translation of the Marxan User’s Manual: is
available here for download (5 MB PDF).
- Marxan Good Practices Handbook: PDF
(3.7 MB click here) 25 experts pass on their experiences about
how to conduct solid defensible Marxan analyses. This "external
review" version of the handbook invites critical comment in preparation
for its final publication in early 2009, and is subject to change.
(This release: 23 June 2008; ~150 pages.) If you prefer a Word
Doc, click here, but be aware that formating may not necessarily
be correct, depending on your version of MS Office, fonts, etc.
- Marxan Good Practices Workshop Summary Report: Word
doc (800 kb click here) A 10-page summary of the workshop held
by PacMARA in April 2007 where 120 users of marine planning tools
like Marxan discussed with decision-makers key points that each felt
the other ought to know... This led to the writing of the the revised
Marxan manual (below) and the Marxan
Good Practices Handbook (above). This summary report also has
electronically embedded within it the comprehensive Facilitator's
Report of that workshop (~50 pages).
- Completely re-written Marxan User’s Manual (2008):
is available
here for download (5 MB PDF).
- Experimental on-line Marxan User's Manual (wiki site):
click here.
This is an experiment with the Marxan user community to offer the
opportunity to improve and revise the user manual. If you would like
to become a wiki editor of the manual, send a short email to us (info
at pacmara.org), with your contact info and please also very briefly
outline your marxan experience. We will then send you an editor-level
log-on and password so that you can join the list of esteemed editors!
Or, if you prefer anonymity, log-in as a user and you can post your
comment to one of the discussion forums (linked on the left-hand side
of the wiki page).
- Presentation: Re-writing the Marxan manual, and
creating the Marxan Good Practices Handbook, are all part of PacMARA's
ongoing project to aid in marine planning and decision making good
practices. Like to know more? Here is a link to our
PowerPoint presentation (2.5 MB) given 12 Feb. 2008 as part of
the international launch of the new manual.
- To subscribe to the PacMARA list serve, (information
and news on ecosystem-based management, marine planning, information
management and marine protected areas) send a blank email to: PacMARA-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
-------End of News-------
Marine planning in British Columbia is a complex task. An expanding
economy is attracting many different – and often conflicting –
types of use to the coast, putting more pressure on over-stressed ecosystems.
At the same time, decision makers must deal with international competition
for fish stocks, pressure from conservation groups, uncertainty created
by First Nations’ treaty negotiations, and jurisdictional disputes
between different levels of government.
Good planning can’t happen without good data. Yet despite all
the agencies and organizations involved in marine planning, conservation
and resource use, there is a real lack of high-quality information that
decision makers can depend on as they tackle these difficult issues.
The stakes are high: poorly informed decisions can lead to confrontation,
political controversy, lengthy court cases, faltering economies, and
ecological damage.
The Pacific Marine Analysis and Research Association (PacMARA) was
created to provide government, First Nations, businesses, NGOs and community
groups with the information they need to take an ecosystem-based approach
to marine decisions in BC.
We’re an impartial and independent network of researchers representing
a broad body of disciplines from natural sciences and social sciences,
working together to share information, develop high-quality analyses,
and fill the critical gaps in our knowledge of this complex coastal
and marine environment.
© PacMARA - Last updated Mar 2009
Photo Credits: Rockweed (Fucus): © PhotoDisc;
boat: © Bruce Burrows; Orca whales: © WWF-Canon / William
W. Rossiter; salmon: © WWF-Canon / Kevin Schafer
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