Peace threatens wildlife in Korea's Demilitarised Zone

Published on Saturday 16 June 2007 00:50

SOMEWHERE in the untouched wilderness that divides the Korean peninsula between North and South, tigers may be roaming. Scientists have reported finding claw marks on tree trunks and the footprints of an endangered species that is known to inhabit only a few remote areas of north-east Asia.

According to conservationists, more than 50 species of mammal, 83 varieties of fish and around 1,220 types of plant - many of them endangered or unique to the region - flourish in the 155 mile-long Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) including Asiatic black bears, lynx, white-naped crane and rare species of vulture.

But ironically, it is the possible arrival of more peaceful ties between Pyongyang and Seoul that poses the greatest threat to their existence.

"There are one million soldiers south of the DMZ, 100,000 artillery tubes aimed at the South, nuclear weapons and more than one million land mines in there," said Hall Healy, president of the DMZ Forum. "And it contains virtually every type of ecosystem and habitat that can be imagined, from mountains to estuaries to wetlands, islands and five rivers, all with no human influences. It's a fabulously wealthy place."

Largely shielded from the hand of mankind by half a century of political stalemate, the 2.5 mile wide DMZ - the world's most heavily armed border - has become an important stopping-off place for birds migrating between Russia and Asia and further afield. The scenes of some of the fiercest fighting of the 1950-53 Korean War, such as Ice Cream Mountain, have not been blighted by farmers' pesticides, electricity pylons or high-rise construction projects. And the DMZ Forum - which counts US media billionaire Ted Turner among its benefactors - wants it to stay that way.

"The DMZ includes billions of dollars in potential passive or active resources that can be managed. With the right handling of the situation, we can bring a lot to both nations and the rest of the world while still protecting the environment there," said Mr Healy.

The DMZ Forum is now working with the governments of both North and South Korea to have the DMZ awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status and the creation of a Peace Park.

The proposals have the support of both governments at present.

One of the forum's challenges, says Mr. Healy, is to convince local people that a longer-term benefit lies in sustainable use of the land.

Few would dispute the right of Koreans to a peaceful existence on a de-militarised and economically prosperous peninsula in the future; Mr Healy just wants to make sure that is not achieved at the expense of the wildlife - including tigers - that live there.

PROBLEMS FACING ONE NATION

REUNIFICATION of the Korean Peninsula, when it occurs, will inevitably be a tricky balancing act.

The average income in the North is around 300 a year; in the South, the 10th largest economy in the world, it averages 10,000. When East and West Germany were reunited in the 1990s, the difference in the size of the two economies was three to one; the difference between the two Koreas is 30 to one. The North has a population of 23 million, the South, 49 million.

Relations between the two governments have warmed in recent years and road and rail links are gradually being re-established through the DMZ. Although the countries have remained technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War they have made big strides toward reconciliation since 2000.