Prince Emmanuel de Merode

Emmanuel de Merode in 2013

Prince Emmanuel de Merode (born 5 May 1970) has been the director of the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since 2008.

Background

Merode was born in North Africa, at Carthage, Tunisia, he spent his childhood in Kenya and was educated at Downside School in the United Kingdom. He is the second son of Charles Guillaume, Prince de Merode, and of his wife Princess Hedwige de Ligne (sister of Charles-Antoine, Prince de Ligne de La Trémoïlle). His parents[1] belong to two of Belgium's historically most ancient and influential families: He descends from Count Félix de Merode, a military commander during the successful Belgian Revolution of 1830 who helped form the first Belgian legislative counsel and government. Emmanuel de Merode does not use his hereditary title in professional contexts, however he is legally a prince in the Belgian nobility, the title having been conferred upon the family by King Albert I in 1929.[2] He has a PhD in Anthropology from University College London, on Congolese conservation issues.

Career

Anthropologist, conservationist, pilot, he worked to control the bushmeat trade and protect endangered wildlife in Central and Eastern Africa. His main focus has been support for African wildlife rangers in remote and difficult national parks and reserves. His work was primarily in the parks of eastern DRC, working to sustain the national parks through the DRC's 10-year civil war. Merode is the author of fourteen scientific papers and co-editor of the book Virunga: The Survival of Africa's First National Park.[3]

On 1 August 2008, he was appointed Director of Virunga National Park by the Congolese government. After swearing allegiance to the Congolese flag, he became the only foreign national to exercise judicial powers in the war torn central African nation. He now lives at the park headquarters in Rumangabo, bordering the park's mountain gorilla sector. The park's 680 rangers are under his direction and much of his work is focused on protecting the park's exceptional wildlife, that include a critically important population of mountain gorillas, elephants, okapis and chimpanzees. His first breakthrough[4] was to broker an agreement between the Congolese government and rebel leader Laurent Nkunda to spare the mountain gorilla sector of the park from the rages of the ongoing civil war and to enable government rangers to redeploy in rebel territory. Negotiating the neutral status of environmental and sustainable development imperatives among the warring factions in eastern Congo became a recurring theme in de Mérode's approach to establishing Virunga National Park as a stabilizing presence in the war affected Great Lakes Region of Africa.

Given the chronic insecurity and the succession of violent wars in eastern Congo, Merode has focused his efforts on economic development initiatives that bring greater stability to the region. In 2013 he assisted in the launching of the Virunga Alliance [5] in an effort to drive the post-war economy of eastern Congo as an instrument for peace-building in the region. The initiative is based on 127 local institutions from the private sector, civil society and government agencies committing to the sustainable development of the parks resources, through tourism, rural electrification, sustainable fisheries and agriculture. A major program is now underway that aims to generate 80 to 100,000 employments in the post-war communities living around the national park, providing young Congolese men and women viable alternatives to engaging in conflict related activities.

At his swearing in ceremony, Merode remarked, "The intensity of the conflict in and around the park makes this a daunting challenge, but it is a great privilege to be working alongside such a dedicated and courageous team of rangers. I have real confidence in our ability to secure a future for the park to ensure that it makes a positive contribution to the lives of the people of North Kivu." His role in maintaining the Park's administration during the M23 Rebellion was covered in the award-winning British documentary Virunga.

He has spoken about his work and the work of the rangers of Virunga in a TEDxWWF talk, "A story of conflict, renewal and hope".[6] Under his leadership, the Virunga park opened to the public again in 2014.[7]

Assassination attempt

On 15 April 2014 Emmanuel de Merode was seriously injured by unidentified gunmen during an ambush on the road between Goma and Rumangabo. He was shot several times in the chest and abdomen, but survived and was able to leave the scene of the attack with the help of local residents.[8][9] Emergency surgery was performed at a local hospital in Goma. A legal enquiry into the motives and identity of the attackers was undertaken by the Congolese authorities. Media reports have cited various suspects, including those engaged in the illegal production of charcoal, people associated with SOCO International, a British oil company engaged in the exploration for oil in the national park, opponents of the 12 Megawatt Project, disgruntled local residents, and those engaged in struggles to control park lands including, at the time, factions of the National Congress of the Defense of People (CNDP) and of the Congolese military.[10]

De Merode returned to Virunga National Park on the 22nd of May 2014 to resume his functions as Park Director.[11]

Personal life

Merode married[12] Louise Leakey in 2003, a paleontologist from Kenya. They have two daughters:

Honours and Titles

Publications

References

  1. ↑ Paul Theroff. "Merode". Angelfire.com. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  2. ↑ Hueck, Walter von, ed. (1991). Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels Fürstliche Häuser Band XIV (in German). Limburg an der Lahn: C. A. Starke.
  3. ↑ "virungafund.org". virungafund.org. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  4. ↑ "Special Report: Congo's Mountain Gorillas - National Geographic Adventure Magazine". Adventure.nationalgeographic.com. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  5. ↑ "Virunga Alliance". virunga.org. 2014-04-11. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  6. ↑ "TEDxWWF - Emmanuel De Merode: A Story of Conflict Renewal & Hope". YouTube. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  7. ↑ Stokes, Elaisha (2014-02-24). "Virunga is open, ready for business | Al Jazeera America". America.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  8. ↑ "Belgian Emmanuel de Merode shot in DR Congo ambush". BBC News. 16 April 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "Emmanuel de Mérode, le directeur du parc des Virunga, blessé dans une attaque | Monde". lesoir.be. 2014-04-16. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  10. ↑ Jack Kahorha (April 18, 2014). "Warden Wounded in Africa's Oldest National Park Had Enemies". nationalgeographic.com. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  11. ↑ Abe Streep (5 November 2014). "The Belgian Prince Taking Bullets to Save the World's Most Threatened Park". Outsideonline.com. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Exploring Human Origins". The Archaeology Channel. 2007-05-01. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  13. ↑ The Leakeys: A Biography - Mary Bowman-Kruhm - Google Boeken. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  14. ↑ "CV de Merode". ukc.ac.uk.
  15. ↑ mal. "Eredoctoraat voor Emmanuel De Merode aan UHasselt". Het Belang van Limburg.
  16. ↑ UHasselt. Lezing Emmanuel de Merode. 27 May 2015. (retrieved 24 October 2015)
  17. ↑ Numac : 2015015098

External links

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