This two-day course was held on 8-9 July 2010. It was designed for users with have extensive Marxan experience and a desire to lead future trainings. The course was taught by Lindsay Kircher from the University of Queensland, one of the leading Marxan trainers. This course may be repeated in the next two years if there is significant interest amongst Marxan users.
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.
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.
About Marxan
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.
About the Instructor
Lindsay Kircher is a member of the Spatial Ecology Lab at the University of Queensland, Australia. She has co-taught numerous Introduction to Marxan and Advanced Marxan courses over the last few years. Her master’s group thesis from the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California at Santa Barbara involved the use of Marxan to help inform the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative in California. She has been actively involved in Marxan research and applied projects, working with NGOs and government. Currently she is part of a Spatial Ecology lab team supporting (through training and database construction) the Australian government in their use of Marxan as a tool to inform the designation of marine parks in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Australia.