Accidental Nature Preserve

[Sara Newman]

Hi Lizette, 

I'm glad you brought up the ambigous/unresolved boundary between North and South Korea. I found it really interesting to hear that not only is the dimilitarized zone remains a point of contention between the two countries, but also that it has become an accidental nature preserve. After class I did a bit more research on the topic and read that, "The same forces that prevent humans from moving within the nearly 400 square miles of the DMZ encourage other species to thrive. Manchurian or red-crowned cranes and white-naped cranes are among the DMZ's most famous and visible denizens. Nearly 100 species of fish, perhaps 45 types of amphibians and reptiles and over 1,000 different insect species are also supposed to exist in the protected zone."

This reminded me a lot of the situation that emerged in Russia after the Chernobyl explosion where human misfortune actually lead to a rare opportunity for animals and plants to grow within human interference. I think it's really beautiful that when huamns created these crises that were too big for them to manage, nature actually benefited in surprising ways. I know that most of their finiings about the animals and plants that have been growing in this unexpected sanctuary is vague, but I'm curious about how possible good could be emerging from the ongoing tension in the DMZ.