Emmanuel de Merode on 100 Years of Virunga — A Masterclass in Quiet Leadership

This might be the moment you first hear about one of the most important — and least understood — places on Earth. Virunga National Park, nestled in the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is Africa’s oldest national park and home to a third of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas. It’s also a frontline of armed conflict, poverty, and ecological destruction — and yet, a bold transformation is underway. Emmanuel de Merode is building real-world systems change from the ground up, using hydroelectricity, microfinance, sustainable agriculture, and conservation to rebuild a war-torn economy. As Director of Virunga, he has spent 20 years turning a war zone into a blueprint for peace and prosperity through nature. In this episode, he speaks about: • Translating theory into electricity, jobs, cocoa, and peace • Why peace in eastern Congo requires economic dignity • How illegal charcoal and cocoa trades fund violence • Creating 21,000 green jobs and Congo’s first chocolate factory • Building the Kivu–Kinshasa Green Corridor — the world’s largest protected tropical forest reserve • How quiet, principled leadership can move mountains — literally “They weren’t killing the gorillas for the meat... They were killing them because the forest had become too valuable.” This is not just a story of conservation — it’s a masterclass in quiet leadership, moral clarity, and systemic change in one of the most fragile yet vital places on Earth.