shinyplanr is an R package that provides a ready-to-deploy web
application for spatial conservation planning. It gives ecologists,
planners, and stakeholders an accessible browser-based interface for
running spatial prioritisation analyses — no R experience required.
The app is built on top of prioritizr, which
uses mathematical optimisation (integer linear programming) to identify
the most efficient set of areas to protect or manage. shinyplanr wraps
this powerful engine in an interactive point-and-click interface that
can be deployed for any region with appropriate spatial data.
Key capabilities include:
- Set biodiversity targets — specify how much of each habitat, species distribution, or other feature should be represented in the solution
- Choose a cost layer — reflect real-world trade-offs such as equal area, distance from shore, or fishing effort
- Apply constraints — lock in existing protected areas or lock out shipping lanes, aquaculture zones, and other incompatible uses
- Run analyses — find the optimal spatial plan using fast, guaranteed-optimal ILP solvers
- Compare scenarios — run two configurations side-by-side to explore trade-offs between different management choices
- Climate-smart planning — optionally prioritise areas projected to be climate refugia under future change
- Ecosystem services — evaluate how much of services such as carbon storage and coastal protection a solution captures
- Check coverage — upload an existing spatial plan (e.g. a proposed protected area network) and see how well it meets feature targets
- Download results — export maps, tables, and self-contained HTML reports for sharing with stakeholders
shinyplanr is designed to be deployed by an R developer or data
administrator for a specific region, and then used by non-technical
stakeholders — conservation managers, government agencies, researchers,
and community groups — through a standard web browser.
You can install the development version from GitHub:
# install.packages("pak")
pak::pak("SpatialPlanning/shinyplanr")See the Introduction for the conceptual background on spatial prioritisation, and Using shinyplanr for a full guide to the application interface. To set up a new deployment for your region, see Setting Up.
Please note that the shinyplanr project is released with a Contributor Code of Conduct. By contributing to this project, you agree to abide by its terms.