BCMCA persists to get it right!

The BC Marine Conservation Analysis has always been an ambitious project, and one that continues to bring new challenges and surprises.  Over the past few months the BCMCA has been experimenting with Marxan in a novel way – using two differently sized planning units (2×2 km and 4×4 km squares) in one analysis. Marxan experts didn’t really recommend this approach, but couldn’t provide evidence to convince us it wouldn’t work. We tried it, discovered a bias in the results, experimented with several potential ‘fixes’, and noted that the fixes introduced their own biases. As we plan to run a range of “what-if?” scenarios, we needed to be sure Marxan calibration is simple, accurate and repeatable. The long and short is:

• The project team agreed on a planning unit re-design.
• We had to redo a lot of the GIS work put into preparing input files for Marxan.
• Marxan calibration will start afresh in the later half of June.
• Our products are delayed!

Project Team members are sticking with the project and now anticipate wrap up in October, 2010. Watch for the release of products including:

• On-line and printed atlas with descriptive facing pages
• Data repository with maps, metadata, and data links or data sources
• Results from a series of Marxan analyses…

Over the summer, BCMCA Project Team, staff and contractors will be nose-to-the-grindstone finalising these products. Then in the fall, we’ll be looking for opportunities to communicate and present all the fruits of our labours.