The korean de-militarized zone: an accidental wildlife haven?
When you think of biodiversity, the Korean De-Militarized zone might not be your first idea.
As we know it today, the Korean Peninsula is divided into 2 - North and South Korea. But it wasn’t always that way - they were one country until WW2, when they split. Eventually, the communist north invaded the south in 1950, resulting in a war that lasted until 1953. The war ended in an armistice, with a de-militarized zone of over 900km². That’s just less than the entire of Toulouse’s urban area.
The zone is covered in remains of the war - landmines, barbed wire fences and broken, abandoned houses scatter the landscape. The divide leaves very few people living in the area - only a couple small peace villages on either side.
Now, 73 years since its establishment, nature has reclaimed the area. The zone is thriving with plants and animals. It contains wetlands, mountains, and forests that boast just under 6000 different species. The flora and fauna includes over 3000 plants, 70 mammals and over 300 birds. Hundreds of these plant species are found only in the Korean Peninsula.
Animals within the zone include Siberian Musk Deers, Asiatic Black Bears and Red-Crowned Cranes. Some of these species are close to endangerment, and this zone has saved them from extinction. It’s rare for an area with such an ideal, temperate climate to be free of us pesky humans and our giant concrete jungles.
Scientists are able to use the area as a real-world example of what would happen to ecosystems if humans were absent. Environmental conservation projects and organizations hope to keep the de-militarized zone as a peaceful area of natural biodiversity, in between North and South Korea, whether or not they stay separated or re-join.
Sources:
Comments