Above image: Wandering Albatross, photograph by Trevor Hardaker
Following increased social media interest in the Mouse-Free Marion (MFM) Project after last month’s Flock to Marion AGAIN! 2025 voyage, we offer this summary of the project’s structure and governance.
The MFM Project is a partnership between the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) and BirdLife South Africa (BLSA), established by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The project is managed at a senior level by a Steering Committee co-chaired by two DFFE Deputy Directors-General, Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize (Environmental Programmes Branch) and Advocate Radia Razack (Oceans and Coasts Branch), and by Mark Anderson, CEO of BLSA. To confirm high-level governmental support, Mark Anderson, Chairperson of the MFM Project’s Management Committee and Dr Anton Wolfaardt, MFM Project Manager have met with the former and current DFFE Ministers, Barbara Creecy and Dr Dion George. The Ministers expressed their full support for the project at these meetings.
The MFM Non-Profit Company was established as a special-purpose vehicle to administer BLSA’s commitment to the MFM Project. The NPC is chaired by Dr Mavuso Msimang, who was Chief Executive Officer of South African National Parks from 1997 to 2003. The NPC has a group of eminent directors, including Trevor Manuel, a former South African Minister of Finance, Nosipho Jezile, South African Ambassador to Italy and former Director-General of DFFE, and Dr Guy Preston, former DFFE Deputy Director-General.
To practice good corporate governance and to ensure that the project is King IV compliant, the MFM NPC has a number of structures, including an Audit & Risk Committee, chaired by Philip Calinikos, a senior chartered accountant. All funds raised for the MFM Project are specifically allocated to the project. Accounts are audited by KPMG, and the annual financial statements are available on request.
The project has appointed six patrons, based in South Africa, Japan, the UK, Australia and the USA, who give international support and advice. His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh is one of the six patrons.
An important part of the preparatory work that is currently being undertaken includes obtaining regulatory approvals from several government departments, and the MFM Project team is working closely with colleagues at DFFE on the preparation of these documents.
Following two recent failures to eradicate introduced mice, on Gough Island in the South Atlantic (UK) and Midway Atoll in the North Pacific (USA), the planned eradication methods for Marion have understandably been undergoing rigorous review. This included convening a workshop of global experts in New Zealand in November 2023 and commissioning two expert-reviewed documents in 2024: a revision of the 2015 Feasibility Study and a Research Plan. In taking the necessary and responsible steps to refine the MFM Project’s meticulous planning, supplementary research on Marion Island will be undertaken in 2025 and 2026, which will further inform and strengthen the eradication design.
We have only one opportunity to eradicate mice from Marion Island, and we must get it right. If we fail, it could take decades before another attempt is feasible. To this end, the eradication will be led by Keith Springer, MFM Operations Manager, who is highly experienced in eradicating introduced mammals on Southern Ocean islands, including leading the successful effort to remove rabbits, rats and mice from Macquarie Island.
During the Flock to Marion AGAIN! 2025 voyage last month a presentation updating attendees on progress with the MFM Project was given by Dr Anton Wolfaardt.
Anyone who would like more information about the MFM Project can send queries to info@mousefreemarion.org, which will be answered by a member of the team. The MFM Project’s website has comprehensive information about the project. To keep followers up to date, the website posts a weekly news article, a quarterly newsletter is emailed to subscribers, and the project is active on Facebook and Instagram.
Mark D. Anderson, CEO, BirdLife South Africa and Director, Mouse-Free Marion Project
NPC, 06 February 2025
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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.
