Newi Makhado holds his bronze Eagle-Owl Award statuette and framed certificate, awarded by BirdLife South Africa in 2025 for his contributions to the conservation of South Africa’s seabirds; photograph by John Cooper

Dr Azwianewi Benedict (Newi) Makhado is a Specialist Scientist: Marine Top Predators in the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, where he has been conducting and managing research on seabirds on South African guano islands, on the sub-Antarctic Marion and Prince Edward Islands and in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, since 2004.  He has made extensive contributions via numerous publications in the scientific literature to the understanding and protection of South Africa’s seabirds, including the threatened penguins, albatrosses and petrels that breed on Marion Island.  In 1999/2000 he spent 15 months on the island as part of the M56 Overwintering Team studying the diet of the island’s two fur seals towards his MSc at the University of Pretoria, awarded in 2002.  Newi is an Honorary Research Associate of the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology at the University of Cape Town, the alma mater for his 2009 PhD that investigates the impact of fur seals on the conservation status of seabirds at the Prince Edward Islands and off western South Africa.

The Marion Island M56 Overwintering Team, 1999/2000. Newi Makhado is standing third from the left; photograph from the Antarctic Legacy of South Africa

In August this year, Newi was elected as Chair of the Scientific Council of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).  The council, on which Newi represents both South Africa and the African Region as a Scientific Councillor, makes recommendations to the CMS Conference of the Parties on such issues as research on migratory species, specific conservation and management measures in relation to threats to migratory species, the inclusion of migratory species in the Appendices and designation of species for Concerted Actions under the Convention.

Newi Makhado at the Mouse-Free Marion Project’s stand at the 2025 South African Bird Fair in Pretoria; photograph by John Cooper

Newi is also South Africa’s National Contact for the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP), the country’s representative on its Advisory Committee and he serves as a member of the committee’s Bycatch and Population Status and Conservation Working Groups.  In addition to his international roles with ACAP and the CMS, Newi represents South Africa at the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and on its subsidiary Scientific Committee.

The Mouse-Free Marion Project extends its congratulations to Newi Makhado on his recent election, looks forward to continuing to work with him and to seek his advice through his membership of the project’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Group and the Non-target Species Advisory Panel.

 

John Cooper, News Correspondent, Mouse-Free Marion Project, 29 September 2026

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South Africa’s Marion and Prince Edward Islands in the southern Indian Ocean on a rare, near-cloudless day, Earth-Observing Advanced Land Imager (ALI EO-1) satellite image, 05 May 2009

The Mouse-Free Marion Project is a registered non-profit company (No. 2020/922433/08) in South Africa, established to eradicate the invasive albatross-killing mice on Marion Island in the Southern Ocean.  The project was initiated by BirdLife South Africa and the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.  Upon successful completion, the project will restore the critical breeding habitat of over two million seabirds, many globally threatened, and improve the island’s resilience to a warming climate.  For more information or to support the project please visit mousefreemarion.org.