Decades of isolation turned Korea's 155-mile DMZ into a wildlife haven
The Korean Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), a heavily fortified border between North and South Korea, has inadvertently become a thriving wildlife sanctuary. Due to seven decades of human exclusion, the area now supports thousands of species, including several endangered animals and migratory birds.
Why it matters
It highlights the paradoxical role of militarized zones in biodiversity conservation and the resilience of nature in the absence of human interference.
Soldiers on both sides stand behind fences and in between are thousands of landmines. For more than 70 years, humans have not ventured into a 155-mile-long corridor that divides two nations, North and South Korea. While boundaries and borders can ward people off, nature is above all such regulations. This is probably why a space where beings seldom step in has transformed into a surprising wildlife haven for flora and fauna.The Korean Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) was created by the armistice that halted the Korean War in 1953. To date, it remains surrounded by soldiers, fences, watchtowers and landmines, making it one of the most fortified and militarised borders in the world. For humans, it is among the most forbidden places on Earth, but for wildlife it is a home they return to.A wildlife havenDMZ extends about 155 miles across the Korean Peninsula and is about 2.5 miles wide.
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