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On May 16, 2018, laureate Emmanuel de Merode accepted the Freedom from Want award on behalf of the Virunga Alliance partnership. Virunga Alliance receives the award for their commitment to protecting the plants and animals of Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In addition, the organisation is committed to protecting local people living near the Virunga border. This is a dangerous task as civilians and the M23 rebellion have been fighting in and around Virunga Park for ten years.

Since 2008, De Merode has led a team of 360 Congolese rangers. With them, he tries to make and keep the National Park free of military action. They also try to restore the rule of law and set up local development projects. In 2013, De Merode helped launch the Virunga Alliance partnership. The alliance aims to improve peace and prosperity for the four million people living near the park. They achieve this through economic development of natural resources. Part of the park's income goes to local people so that they can develop. Alliance is also committed to improving renewable energy for poor households. Furthermore, they support the construction of schools.

More about De Merode

Emmanuel de Merode was born on May 5, 1970, in Carthage, Tunisia. He belongs to Belgium's highest nobility. In 2008, the Congolese government appointed him provincial director at the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation and director of Virunga National Park. UNESCO placed the National Park on the World Heritage List in 1979. Despite an attempt on his life, De Merode and the Virunga Alliance team continue to work in and around Virunga National Park.

Positions and publications

Emmanuel is the prince of Merode, but does not use this title for his work. He is also doctor honoris causa of Hasselt University and doctor of philosophy (biological anthropology) at University College London.

He wrote the following publications:

● (together with Marc Languy) Virunga: The Survival of Africa's First National Park, (Tielt, Lannoo, 2009)
● Protected areas and local livelihoods: contrasting systems of wildlife management in the Democratic Republic of Congo (unpublished doctoral thesis, 1998)