Modeling and decision support tools are often grouped to convey both the processing of data and the utilization of tools that examine multiple scenarios. Our Regional Assessment framework utilizes Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to compile, process, analyze and manage data on terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments. There are a variety of tools that can access this information and put them into a decision support framework. Here we principally rely on the Marxan site selection tool to provide marine managers and practitioners a baseline or starting point to evaluate regional conservation priorities.

Marxan
Given the role that social and economic values play in the management of marine resources, a useful starting point may be to identify a solution that minimizes the total amount of area needed for a given level of protection. In order to incorporate a wide variety of spatial data on marine ecosystems, habitats and species, as well as threats to and human uses of them, we are utilizing an optimization decision support tool called Marxan. This is a heuristic algorithm initially designed to construct conservation portfolios and reserve systems. Marxan is a stand-alone software program that provides decision support to teams of conservation planners and local experts identifying efficient areas that combine to satisfy a number of ecological, social and economic goals. It is readily available via the Internet at no cost by Ian Ball and Hugh Possingham, University of Queensland.

Although no other program is required to run the algorithm, a GIS is required to process the input data and view the results. These algorithms have been applied widely in terrestrial and marine conservation planning globally, and have become a key component of decision support where initial assumptions are evaluated and revised through stakeholder input in order to generate operable solutions to resource management approaches.

Like all models and decision support tools they are limited by the quality of the input data and the expertise of those evaluating their output. These programs help fill information gaps, examine large amounts of data and serve to bring multiple stakeholders together for evaluation, however we should not assume that these are final solutions.