2002
Newsletter
Watch Over Wildlife in Korea's DMZ
Corridor as Railroad is Connected.
With the increasing rapprochement of North and South Korea, including
a railroad through the Demilitarized Zone connecting the two countries,
it is time to consider the future of the DMZ.
Both Koreas and the whole world would benefit from preserving the
DMZ as a peace park and environmental laboratory. Both countries
have exploited their environments severely over the past half century,
leaving the DMZ a significant portion of their natural open space.
It is an important flyway for rare cranes and harbors many threatened
animal species, including--possibly--tigers and leopards.
Further, the DMZ offers a unique scientific opportunity: devastated
by war, it has been untouched by humans for nearly 50 years. Nature's
capacity for restoration can be studied there.
We recognize the importance of the railroad toward bringing families
and, eventually, the two countries together. But we urge great care
in preserving the DMZ from further development.
Already, there are numerous proposals from both North and South
to industrialize and otherwise develop the DMZ. It is crucial that
a DMZ preservation policy be negotiated very soon.
Endorsed by:
Dr. George Archibald, International
Crane Foundation
Dr. K.C. Kim, Penn State University
Dr. Jeffrey A. McNeely, IUCN
Dr. Peter H. Raven, Missouri Botanical Garden
Dr. Colin Rees, World Bank
Dr. Robert A. Scalapino, Univ. of California, Berkeley
Dr. Dennis C. Smith, New York University
Dr. Arthur H. Westing, Westing
Associates
Dr. E.O. Wilson, Harvard University
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