The British Columbia Marine Conservation Analysis (BCMCA) is requesting qualified consultants to respond to this request for proposal for GIS and Marxan analyses. The selected consultant(s) will complete a series of Marxan analyses in support of marine planning for the North Pacific Coast.
The objective of the project is to complete a series of Marxan analyses for the MaPP study area. Marxan scenarios will focus on identification of areas of high conservation value consistent with the approach used by the BCMCA for the Marxan scenarios for Pacific Canada. Marxan analysis will employ data from the BCMCA online data library and additional data provided by marine planning partners. The project is intended to commence in September 2012 with a final completion date of December 31, 2012.
Please submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae and a proposed project work plan that includes identified timelines, tasks and a budget breakdown on or before Friday, September 14 , 2012.
Please see the complete request for proposal which has more information about the required qualifications and the proposed tasks.
Local Marine Planning Process Use of Products
from July 17th, 2012
West Coast Aquatic (WCA) and the BCMCA are collaborating on the use of Marxan for marine spatial planning in Barkley and Clayoquot Sound. The Marxan tool will be used to identify potential candidate Ecologically Significant Areas (ESAs) in the Barkley and Clayoquot Sound areas.
There are several steps involved including the following:
conduct a status quo inventory of the areas currently under a protected area or conservation designation in each Sound;
review the BCMCA features and additional data held by WCA to identify all features to be represented in ESAs;
overlay of human use data and intensity of current recreational, commercial, industrial and cultural activities in the region and consider these in relation to ranges of protection for ecological features;
run several scenarios using Marxan as a decision support tool; and
consider Marxan results in the process of identifying potential candidate ESAs.
New Data and Reports Posted
from February 15th, 2012
Under the direction of the Data Manager, Carrie Robb, the BCMCA website continues to improve. Since the summer of 2011, content has been added to the marine atlas and data library and the document library. We have been working hard behind the scenes to prepare more data and information for download!
There have been many updates to the human use features available through the data library. You can now download GIS compatible data (in shapefile format) for features in these sectors: commercial fisheries, shipping and transportation, sport fishing, tourism and recreation, and ocean energy.
We also posted many information files, known as metadata, that describe the data sources and processing steps used to compile each feature. Metadata files were posted for: commercial fisheries (35 features), shipping and transportation (14 features), sport fishing (4 features), tenures (6 features), tourism and recreation (4 features), and ocean energy (4 features).
Marxan metadata files are similar but they describe how data were processed into the BCMCA planning units and prepared for use in Marxan analyses. Marxan metadata files have been posted for: commercial fishing (35 features) and shipping and transportation (10 features).
The remaining human use data and metadata files are still in the works and will be posted as they are completed.
excerpts from the printed version of the BCMCA Atlas, including the introduction, table of contents and acknowledgments, and
a list of all the atlas pages created for our marine atlas (called BCMCA Atlas – List of Maps).
We are also continually updating and improving the BCMCA Custodian Restrictions Spreadsheet [note: now replaced by our online Custodian Index]. This spreadsheet documents all the custodians of the original data sets that the BCMCA drew upon to create the features you see illustrated in our marine atlas and data library. If you are looking for data that the BCMCA does not have permission to share or distribute, this document tells you who to request permission from.
The BCMCA will continue to improve and to update the results available at www.bcmca.ca to ensure that the best information is provided to marine planning agencies, organizations and the marine user communities.
Marxan Report: Ecological Scenarios
from January 15th, 2012
The BCMCA is in the final stages of preparing our Marxan analysis report on results. We have posted the report A Series of Marxan Scenarios for Pacific Canada that describes how we used Marxan to identify areas of high conservation value and areas important to human use. The 60-page report illustrates the results for 6 different ecological scenarios that drew on 170 ecological features to identify areas of high conservation value.
The results for our human use scenarios are still under review. The BCMCA is currently meeting with the Human Use Working Group sector representatives to review Marxan results for each sector, receive their comments and request approval to post maps of these results. The six sectors included in the review process are recreational fishing, commercial fishing, recreation and tourism, ocean energy, shipping and transportation, and tenures.
BCMCA anticipates the review process will be complete this winter. As sector representative approvals are received, BCMCA will update the full report and post results online. So… stay tuned!
Project Team Renewal
from December 15th, 2011
As of November 2011, the Project Team welcomes a new C0-chair, Rob Paynter, from the provincial Ministry of Forest Lands and Natural Resource Operations. Rob joins Karin Bodtker, the other BCMCA Co-chair, who works for the Living Oceans Society and is also the environmental non-government representative.
The Project Team’s purpose is to develop, coordinate, and implement the BCMCA in a way that is collaborative, inclusive, and transparent. Members of the Project Team come from diverse backgrounds and together have a wide range of expertise. Currently, the Project Team is made up of the following representatives:
Federal Government – Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Parks Canada;
Provincial Government – Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations;
User Groups – BC Seafood Alliance, Sport Fishing Advisory Board;
Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations – Living Oceans Society representing Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, David Suzuki Foundation, Sierra Club BC, and World Wildlife Fund Canada; and
Academia – James Cook University.
The Project Team also includes representatives who have chosen to participate as observers. The West Coast Vancouver Island Aquatic Management Board is an observer. The following First Nation Observer representatives are also on the Project Team:
Coastal First Nations,
Haida Fisheries Program,
Island and Approach First Nations Fisheries, and
North Coast-Skeena First Nations Stewardship Society.
New Goal Relates to Access and Use
from November 15th, 2011
While the overall purpose of the BCMCA project is to collaboratively identify marine areas of high conservation value and areas important to human use in Canada’s Pacific Ocean, the project has entered a new phase as of the summer 2011.
The goal of this phase of the BCMCA is to ensure that marine planning agencies, organizations and the marine user community understands and have access to the expert-driven and peer-reviewed BCMCA products. The three main objectives are to ensure British Columbia marine planning processes are aware of and have access to the BCMCA products, to provide new or revised data products and analysis work, and to strengthen collaborative relationships between BCMCA and the marine user community in British Columbia.
The BCMCA is currently requesting expressions of interest from marine planning processes within British Columbia. The BCMCA intends to assist several processes over the next year with use and access to BCMCA products.
BCMCA Hires New Manager
from October 15th, 2011
BCMCA hired a new Project Manager, Gillian Saxby, last fall. Gillian comes to the BCMCA with a strong background in project management and has over twenty years experience in working with governments, NGOs, and First Nations. She also has extensive experience working with project teams, collaborative processes and informal problem solving including consensus decision making.
Her education and professional experiences have focused on preserving and protecting the natural environment including coastal ecosystems and working with the marine resource sectors. Gillian has a graduate degree in planning and an undergraduate degree in economics. In addition, she is a professional mediator and brings an expertise in collaboration and working with teams of people at a distance.
Workshop at the International Marine Conservation Congress
from May 3rd, 2011
The BCMCA Project Team would like to invite you to a lunch-time workshop at the upcoming International Marine Conservation Congress conference here in Victoria. The workshop will be held on Sunday May 15, downtown at the Victoria Conference Centre in the Esquimalt room on the first floor. We will have the first copies of our printed atlas, Marine Atlas of Pacific Canada, hot off the press.
This workshop is an opportunity for users to share their perspectives on the BCMCA Data Library and Marine Atlas. Several speakers from different agencies and organizations will kick off the workshop with short talks about how they have used BCMCA maps or data products or how they plan to incorporate them into upcoming projects. Then we will break into smaller groups to discuss improvements in design and delivery of products, additional data needs, and ideas for long term efficient access. We’ll be there to listen to you!
To help us improve our products and delivery of them, please take this short survey [linked removed]. We will report on results at the workshop and in this journal, so you don’t need to attend the workshop to take the survey.
Although an RSVP is not absolutely necessary, if you plan to attend please email Tanya [address removed] so we can ensure enough space for the breakout groups. Please feel free to bring your own lunch, as lunch is not provided as part of the workshop. There will be a cash & carry lunch option available daily at the exhibit hall (Crystal Gardens) just across the street.
Looking forward to seeing you there and hearing your comments on the BCMCA products!
Announcing the BCMCA Data Library and Marine Atlas
The BCMCA Marine Atlas and Data Library is an online, open access resource where you can browse, view, or download ecological and human use maps, data and metadata for the Canadian Pacific. The Data Library and Marine Atlas is designed to inform coast-wide integrated marine planning and management initiatives.
A key feature of the Data Library and Marine Atlas is that it is a comprehensive, digital collection that holds over 260 maps in more than 20 different categories, illustrating both ecological and human use marine features of the Canadian Pacific. Currently, all the ecological content is available, while some human use pages are still under review and will be available shortly.
The human uses that are mapped fall into these categories: commercial fisheries, recreational fisheries, shipping and marine transportation, energy, recreation and tourism, and marine or foreshore tenures such as aquaculture or log booms. The ecological features fall into these categories: physical representation, plants, birds, fish, invertebrates and mammals.
The content of the Data Library and Marine Atlas is the result of several years of assembling, collating and reviewing data. This assembly and review process relied upon experts from a variety of backgrounds including governments, First Nations, user groups, stakeholders, academia, non-governmental organizations, and consultants and we thank all those who generously gave their time.
BCMCA Persists to Get It Right!
from June 29th, 2010
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.
