Wild Bird and Peace in DMZ

A thick blanket of fog seeps over the forested hills on this late-winter morning as I stand, searching the horizon for birds, on the bank of the Imjin River just north of Cheolwon, South Korea.

The DMZ, a 155-mile-long, 2.5-mile-wide strip of land that has been virtually untouched by humans for more than seven decades. This strip of land became an unintentional wildlife sanctuary when the two Koreas pulled back from the area after an armistice was signed in their 1950-53 war.

The DMZ is fortified with tall, barbed-wire fences, riddled with land mines and heavily guarded by the respective countries' militaries, keeping all human disturbances to a minimum. After people left the area, plants and wildlife were able to grow unrestrained. But with increasing goodwill between North and South Korea, peace seeker and environmentalist like I fear that the protected nature of the area is changing and may lead to detrimental effects on the wildlife.

I can't help but worry that this area will face a serious threat. If we had preserved the region because we had agreed it's peace and environmentally valuable, then it can be kept intact regardless of political circumstances. But this region was preserved because of the presence of military forces. Once the military tension disappears, it may naturally follow that people feel a strong urge to transform the area.

Even with tentative overtures toward peace, the two Koreas appear to be far from a place where the DMZ would disappear completely. Talks of a peace agreement have come up in the past, like a peace declaration made in 2000, but progress has been slow.

According to South Korea's Ministry of Environment, more than 5,000 species of plants and animals have been identified in the area, including more than 100 that are protected. Vulnerable, near-threatened and endangered animals in the DMZ include the Siberian musk deer, white-naped crane, red-crowned crane, Asiatic black bear, cinereous vulture and long-tailed goral — a species of wild goat. If we only preserve the DMZ proper, the variety of birds that come here will be curtailed. Small forest birds can both find enough food and inside the DMZ, but bigger birds come out here for food and go back in the DMZ just to sleep.

I do think the nature can provide answers to the problems humankind suffers from. We have to protect it — force it, if necessary — because it's an important asset for the futures. Our objective is for the entire DMZ to be designated as a "Global Peace Zone" by the UN and a "Biosphere Reserve" by UNESCO, which will ultimately maintain harmony and peace between the North and South of the Korean Peninsula. — I do think the nature can provide answers to the problems humankind suffers from. We have to protect it — force it, if necessary — because it's an important asset for the futures. Our objective is for the entire DMZ to be designated as a "**Global Peace Zone**" by the UN and a "**Biosphere Reserve**" by UNESCO, which will ultimately *maintain harmony and peace between the North and South of the Korean Peninsula.*

2024.12.31 (Photo by KMHPF)

Wild Bird and Peace in DMZ

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