Editing Buffer zone (section)

{{about|buffer zones in general|use relating to abortion|Legal protection of access to abortion|the Karachi neighbourhood|Buffer Zone, Karachi}}
{{Short description|Intermediate region, typically between belligerent entities}}
[[File:Cyprus BufferZoneInBlue.png|right|thumb|Map of the [[Cyprus Buffer Zone|current buffer zone in Cyprus]], between the Greek [[Cyprus|Republic of Cyprus]] in the south and the [[Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus]] in the north.]]
[[File:Заграждение, КСП и ДОТ на белорусско-польской границе 01.jpg|right|thumb|Modern buffer zone on the Belarus-Poland border in [[Brest, Belarus|Brest]] with a [[Security alarm#Security electric fence|security electric fence]], a ploughed trace-control strip to show signs of passage, and a [[Pillbox (military)|pillbox]].]]
A '''buffer zone''', also historically known as a '''[[March (territory)|march]]''', is a neutral area that lies between two or more bodies of land; usually, between [[country|countries]]. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them.
Common types of buffer zones are [[demilitarized zone]]s, [[border zone]]s and certain restrictive easement zones and [[Green Belt|green belts]]. Such zones may be comprised by a sovereign state, forming a [[buffer state]].

Buffer zones have various purposes, politically or otherwise. They can be set up for a multitude of reasons, such as to prevent violence, protect the environment, shield residential and commercial zones from industrial accidents or natural disasters, or even isolate prisons. Buffer zones often result in large uninhabited regions that are themselves noteworthy in many increasingly developed or crowded parts of the world that unintentionally create a de facto [[Nature reserve|wildlife sanctuary]].{{examples|date=October 2013}}