November 24th 2008. Emmanuel De Merode, the Director of Virunga National Park, returns to the looted conservation authority after evacuating during renewed fighting. De Merode has performed some remarkable diplomacy and has succesfully negotiated with CNDP and General Nkunda to allow the return of the ICCN Rangers to the Park. Now they have begun working on a Gorilla census to determine the effects of the war on the mountain Gorilla population. It is a remarkable case of conservation winning out over politics.