Publication
Article by our partner Spike Millington

A family of White-naped cranes (Antigone vipio) (©Bernhard Seliger)

After having Mr. Spike Millington at our Flyway conference in November, HSF was excited to read his new article. The article nicely paints an image for the reader to understand how the border area, the Korean Demilitarized Zone DMZ, and the Civilian Controlled Zone look like, and introduces the endangered cranes “White-naped Crane” and “Red-crowned Crane” for which the border area serves as a habitat. Mr. Millington shortly mentioned the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the resulting scarcity of food due to the loss of fertilizer subsidies as a reason for the cranes moving south for wintering. Since the conditions were better at their new habitat, further in the south, the population of the red-crowned Crane has doubled to 2000, making up almost 90% of the global population and the White-naped Crane skyrocketed from 2000 to now over 9000 birds, representing 80% of their migratory population worldwide. The Cranes mainly live in the undeveloped Civilian Controlled Zone which is, unfortunately, shrinking recently due to economic development. For the conservation of cranes in this area, the International Crane Foundation and its partners implemented a new project at the Crane Education Center based on four principal components:

1. growing engagement of local people in crane conservation activities

2. education about areas for cranes in e.g. school

3. activities with local/national governments

4. various support of crane conservation groups

Thus, although such a project is of a challenging nature due to the political tensions in those areas, the International Crane Foundation shows its commitment to making a positive change.