QGIS Plugins | Free tools for spatial planning

Overview

QGIS is the dominant open source desktop GIS software globally. QGIS is especially popular in the global south where commercial desktop GIS software is less entrenched in government and academic institutions and where the resources needed to purchase commercial software are hard to find. QGIS is a very powerful and flexible solution with a vast number of plugins available. For QGIS users, the functionality offered by the tools here matches our ArcGIS tools exactly and so there no need for users to purchase commercial desktop GIS for the purposes supported here. The plugins are designed fit into the Processing tools model that allows them to be used interactively and in scripts. The installation of these plugins is done from directly within QGIS.

Tools

QMarxan Toolbox

Marxan is one of the leading conservation tools in the world. Marxan is designed as a decision support tool which asks the question, "How can I meet these targets efficiently?". Marxan uses spatial data in a non-spatial environment to test many different solutions to find near-optimal solutions to the before stated question. The QMarxan Toolbox for QGIS 3 and above provides a series of tools to generate convert spatial data into a format that Marxan can understand and use. The QMarxan Toolbox also provides tools to assist in the calibration of your Marxan analysis.