peace through nature
From demilitarized zone to ecological peace: New visions for Korea’s future
In the 73 years since the demilitarized zone's creation, limited human activity has allowed diverse species of animals and plants to flourish. Photo: Unsplash.
For more than seventy years, the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) has symbolized division. Yet it has also become an unintended sanctuary for biodiversity — a rare landscape where ecosystems have regenerated in the absence of intensive human pressure.
A new international study, co-authored by Centre researchers, explores how this historically contested landscape could become a catalyst for ecological renewal and peacebuilding. The paper presents four citizen-developed visions for “Living in Harmony with Nature” on the Korean peninsula, using the demilitarized zone as both symbol and testing ground.
Imagining peace through nature
Led by HyeJin Kim from the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the study brought together scientists, policymakers, artists and citizens during the 2023 EcoPeace Forum in South Korea.
Participants used the Nature Futures Framework, developed by the task force on Scenarios and Models of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the Seeds of Good Anthropocenes futures approach to imagine desirable futures for the peninsula.
Rather than starting from geopolitical constraints, the process began with nature values: What kinds of relationships between people and nature do citizens want? What would a peaceful and ecologically thriving Korea look like by 2050?
“The DMZ is often thought of as a military boundary,” says lead author HyeJin Kim. “But it is also an ecosystem that is shaped by history, ecology and memory. By inviting residents of Korea to envision its future, we open space to think differently about coexistence between people and nature and even in a divided context.”
Participants developed four distinct yet complementary visions. Some emphasized ecological restoration and legal rights for nature. Others focused on eco-cultural renewal, sustainable food systems, low-growth economic models, or decentralized eco-villages powered by renewable energy. Across all visions, the DMZ emerged as a site of ecological peace — where conservation, education, governance and cultural identity are interwoven.
Why plural futures matter
For Garry Peterson, professor at the Centre and co-author of the study, the process reflects a broader shift in sustainability science.
“The Nature Futures Framework recognises that there is no single ‘correct’ relationship between people and nature,” he says. “If we want transformative change, we need diverse, positive nature futures that reflect different values — nature for nature, nature for society, and nature as culture. Exploring that diversity helps societies move beyond fear-driven narratives and imagine futures worth striving for.”
Peterson argues that sustainability science needs to broaden people’s and institutions’ ability to imagine different desirable futures:
“We need compelling visions of nature revitalization and coexistence,” he says. “The DMZ offers a powerful example of how people can look after nature, and that regeneration can inspire new social possibilities.”
A science–policy–society experiment
The study also reflects on the method itself. Visioning was conducted not only by experts or government officials, but through a structured participatory process at the Korean EcoPeace Forum that linked the Global Biodiversity Framework, the Nature Futures Framework, and locally grounded initiatives — “seeds” of hope and change that exist across Korea.
The workshop brought together conservation scientists, policy experts, entrepreneurs, artists and youth participants. Creative exercises helped bridge disciplinary boundaries and overcome what researchers describe as an “imagination gap” in sustainability planning.
Jae Chun Choe, Professor of Ecology at Ewha University and the founder of the Biodiversity Foundation in Korea who initiated the DMZ Open Festival, highlights the importance of this interface.
“Transformations happen when people can see themselves in a better future,” he says. “By building on existing Korean initiatives we help articulate new ways of living.”
Lessons beyond Korea
The DMZ has long been discussed as a potential peace park or biosphere reserve, but political tensions have repeatedly stalled formal agreements. The new study suggests that participatory visioning may offer another pathway — one grounded in culture, education and grassroots engagement.
While rooted in the Korean context, the research speaks to a wider global challenge: how to connect biodiversity goals with lived experience, and how to embed ecological restoration within broader social transformation.
“The future of the DMZ is not predetermined,” says Youngcheol Cho, a former advisor of the Peace Cooperation Division at the Gyeonggi Provincial Office who hosted the visioning at the EcoPeace Forum. “It can remain a symbol of division — or become a space where new relationships between people, nature and peace are cultivated.”
Read the full article Visioning ecologically diverse and harmonious futures of Korea in the Good Anthropocene »
Kim, H., Peterson, G., Kim, H., Lee, H., Yeo, M., Cho, Y., Harrison, P.A., Jin, G., Kang, B., Kim, J., Kim, S., Ah Koo, K., Miller, B.W., Pereira, L.M., Ahn, S., Yeonjung Gwon, L., Im, J., Lee, S., Park, C., Park, J., Park, S., Yoon, Y.-Y., Choe, Y.J.Y., Im, M. & Choe, J.C. 2026. Visioning ecologically diverse and harmonious futures of Korea in Good Anthropocene. People and Nature.
