Visioning and realizing ecologically diverse and harmonious futures of Korea in Good Anthropocene through citizen engagement in science-policy-society interfaces

Global environmental challenges such as biodiversity loss, pollution, and climate change across various regions of the world are deeply intertwined with social and political tensions. Yet the voices and hopes of people living in conflict-affected or politically divided regions are not often reflected in ecological research or policy. In these times when conflicts are becoming more frequent and damage from environmental destruction and climate change more commonplace, alternative and equitable visions for the future is more urgently needed than ever. In this study focussed on the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) of Korea – one of the world's most militarised and politically sensitive regions – we co-developed futures of peaceful coexistence between nature and people with Korean citizens. Using a visioning process that included various creative facilitation methods and collaborative activities, we imagined what desirable and peaceful futures for people and nature on the Korean peninsula could be. The visions described by the participants emphasised human-nature coexistence, ecosystem restoration, self-sufficient renewable energy systems, social inclusion and wellbeing, and lifelong ecological learning. Many participants viewed peace itself as an essential prerequisite for environmental recovery and community welfare. This study demonstrates how the Korean Peninsula's unique geopolitical context shapes the ways people imagine and negotiate future possibilities, but also what some of their core aspirations are. Our findings demonstrate that participatory visioning can serve as an effective approach to start incorporating citizens' perspectives into decision-making processes across jurisdictional levels. Connecting local aspirations to national and global objectives is one important role of the science-policy-society in bridging between research, governance, and community voices. This offers a pathway towards more inclusive and transformative sustainability planning, even within complex or divided contexts. In this presentation, we introduce two visioning workshops conducted with citizen stakeholders during the DMZ Open Festival’s Ecopeace Forum in 2023 and 2024 in Korea, where diverse frameworks, methodological and analytical approaches, and science-communication tools were used to catalyze transformative change.