Nature protection and biodiversity - Outlook 2020 (Hungary)

Assuming that today’s trends do not change, i.e. consumer demands further expand, infrastructural developments continue and the pace of setting aside of agricultural lands remains the same, the present unfavourable effects (such as decrease and fragmentation of natural habitats, increasing endangerment of the vegetation, including several endemic plant association and species) are expected to intensify.

Regarding nature conservation activity and the battle against biodiversity loss, a number of results have already been achieved. Future conservation of the diversity of species, associations and habitats requires an even more comprehensive approach.

Conservation of natural assets can increasingly be realised through preserving the landscape as a whole, through a more partnership-based maintenance that includes resource management and through better integration of nature conservation aspects into sectoral programmes. This integrated approach demands higher cooperation of sectors and enhanced regional integration.

Environmental issues in a general political context were not prioritised until the 1990s. Since then, a shift regarding social values and growing awareness and an increasing need for a healthy environment and for conserving the good status of natural assets can be observed. Provided this shift of social values continues and EU and national sustainable development policies prevail, the above-mentioned negative effects might be avoided or at least slowed down.

More space – as well as incentives - should be given to agro-environmental schemes; integrated water management (formulated with regard to changing needs and conditions, and providing effective solutions for issues such as flood, inland inundation and drought), for a wide spectrum of environmental education and for resource and energy efficient economy. Optimal and sustainable use of the country’s natural and cultural assets, the maintenance and spread of sustainable land utilisation types that contribute to increasing both biological activity and biological and landscape diversity should be promoted in the future.

In this context, climate change may have significant ecological impacts with regard to the agriculture and natural ecosystems in the region. (Among the most probable consequences we may find the shift of zonal vegetation boundaries, loss of native species and growing presence of invasive ones, appearance of new pests and pathogens, rearrangement of trophic chains. These may lead to a decline in ecological stability and adaptive capacity). Climate change is expected to have  varied impacts on habitat types of Hungary, especially on wetlands. (See Box 11)