MARION ISLAND

Marion Islandlies in the Southern Indian Ocean.  Marion Island is 19 km long by 12 km wide, and the two islands (Marion and Prince Edward) have a combined area of 316 square km and politically form part of South Africa's Western Cape Province. The islands are volcanic in origin, with Marion having many hillocks (secondary craters) and small lakes. Prince Edward Island has spectacular cliffs up to 490m high on its south western side.

There is little vegetation, except for lichen, in the island's centre. Elsewhere the vegetation is mainly mosses and ferns, and the terrain is very boggy. This is due to the abundant snow and rain. There are no trees, due to the persistent, strong westerly winds commonly termed the 'Roaring Forties'.

Marion Island was annexed in 1948 and therefore became a South African territory.  Since then biological/environmental research is a major function of the Marion Island base (weather data collection being the other). Close to 1000 scientific papers and dozens of post-graduate thesis have been produced from research on Marion, and the long-term biological monitoring programmes provide exceptional research potential into the rate and impacts of climate change as a result of global warming.

This site, covering 37 500 hectares was designated by the Government of the Republic of South Africa  for inclusion in the List of Wetlands established under the 'Convention on Wetlands of International Importance', an intergovernmental treaty signed in Ramsar, Iran in 1971 to promote the conservation and sustainable use of wetland areas worldwide. The Prince Edward Islands were included within the Convention on 22 May 2007 as Ramsar Site No. 1688. The protection and management of this site falls within the responsibility of the Branch: Oceans & Coasts.  The Prince Edward Islands are the first to be declared Ramsar Wetland sites and therefore added to the South African Ramsar list.

In 1995 the Prince Edward Islands was declared the Special Nature Reserve under the Environment Conservation Act, Act No. 73 of 1989.  

With the aim to protect this Special Nature Reserve and in an effort keep these islands' environment as pristine as possible, the Director-General has appointed the Prince Edward Islands Management Committee to manage these two islands with the support of the Prince Edward Islands Management Plan. The Management Plan attempts to ensure that the necessary protection is afforded to the island's fragile ecosystems, within the context of both national and international legal obligations, while facilitating the scientific research necessary to underpin its effective implementation.

THE RESEARCH ON MARION ISLAND FOCUSES MAINLY ON THE FOLLOWING THEMES:

• Weather and climate studies
• the interactions between marine and terrestrial systems
• the life histories of seals, seabirds and killer whales
• the life histories of birds found on Marion
• the structure and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems and
• the structure and functioning of near shore ecosystems

THE STATION ON MARION ISLAND IS USUALLY MANNED BY THE FOLLOWING PERSONNEL:

• 1 Senior Meteorologist
• 2 Assistant Meteorologists
• 1 Medical Orderly
• 1 Radio Technician
• 1 Diesel Mechanic
• 1 Base Engineer
• 1 Environmental Conservation Officer
• Various Field Assistants/Biologists

The overwintering team stays there for 15 months until the new relief team arrives.

The year 2011 marked the commissioning of the Marion Island research base.  The base was commissioned on 18 March 2011 when the previous Deputy Minister, Mrs Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu of the National Department of Public Works officially handed the base over to the department. The base houses approximately 80 participants, including the expedition teams, as opposed to the old base which could only accommodate 64 relief people.