Geography

Hungary is a landlocked country in East-Central Europe with a land area of 93,030 Sq.Km. It measures about 250 Km from north to south and 524 Km from east to west. It has 2,216 Km of boundaries, shared with Austria to the west, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia to the south and southwest, Romania to the southeast, Ukraine to the northeast, and Slovakia to the north. Hungary is a mostly flat country, dominated by the Great Hungarian Plain east of the Danube. The plain includes approximately 56% of the country’s land. The terrain ranges from flat to rolling plains. The Danube is the major river, as it divides the country almost in half, and is navigable within Hungary for 418 Km.

Population and land use

The population of Hungary is 9.8 Million as per the Population reference Bureau (2019). The most important agricultural zones are the Little Hungarian Plain (it has the highest quality fertile soil in average), Transdanubia, and the Great Hungarian Plain. The last covers more than half of the country, whereas soil quality varies extremely; the territory even contains a small, grassy semi-desert. Forests cover 21% of the total area, composition of which is on the plain mainly acacia, poplar and black pine, on the mountain’s different deciduous trees, mostly beech, pedunculate oak and sessile oak. The grassland (meadows and pastures) cover about 1.5-2 Mha.

Climate and rainfall

The climate of Hungary is mainly continental, with cold winters and warm to hot summers. The average annual temperature is about 10°C, the warmest month is July with about 21°C, and coldest is January a bit less than 0°. The absolute minimum is -35,0°C, while the absolte maximum is 41,9°C. Average yearly rainfall is about 550-600 mm with the highest precipitation in summer and lowest in winter. Distribution and frequency of rainfall have a high variability. The western part of the country usually receives more precipitation than the eastern part, where severe droughts may occur in summertime. Weather conditions in the Great Plain can be especially harsh, with hot summers, cold winters, and lower precipitation sum.

Food and agriculture

Hungary, with its plains and hilly regions, is highly suitable for agriculture. The cultivated area (arable land + permanent crops) is about 4.5 Mha. A very large proportion of the land of the country is suitable for agricultural production. Majority of the soils are good for production of the most important plants used for food or fodder. Cereals have prominent role in arable production. The greatest sowing area belongs to the winter wheat, corn, sunflower and rape Among the fruits apple and drupes (peach, apricot, plum, cherry, sour-cherry) are important, but the berry-fruits are also grown. Among the plantations the vineyards and apple orchards are most important. The most important Hungarian agricultural products include corn, wheat, barley, oat, sunflower, poppy, millet, flax, and many other plants. There are also some newly naturalized plants, like amaranth. Poppy seed is part of the traditional Hungarian cuisine.

Water resources management

The surface and subsurface water resources in Hungary are large enough on the long-term average to meet the demands as regards both quantity and quality. The magnitude of the surface water resources is determined by the fact that 95% thereof originate abroad and that reservoirs have been built beyond the borders. The demands for surface water arising in Hungary, especially those in the Tisza Valley, can be met by water routing and transfers alone. Considerable efforts have been made at ensuring the desired level of supply to the large lakes, even by drawing on groundwater resources. The total actual renewable water resources amount to 118 Km³/year.

Irrigation and drainage

Irrigated fields exceed 108,000 Ha which is half of the area equipped for irrigation. The 95% of the cultivated land is rain-fed, which provide sufficient income to the farmers even in years with average precipitation, but with decreasing benefit because of climate change. The emergence of small farms is likely to increase area irrigated from surface water and groundwater abstracted from shallow, dug wells. On the irrigated fields, intelligent automatic systems may provide the full water- and nutrient requirement of the plants during their whole vegetation period. On the irrigated fields, the drought sensitivity of the present farming methods may decrease about 50% by the wide use of precision irrigation techniques and water saving methods, and in the proper operation of irrigation equipment the prediction- and extension training services may play a considerable role. The agricultural water managed area (area equipped for irrigation) is 184 000 ha in the country. Close to one-half of the country’s territory consists of lowlands, which have no natural drainage, and from which the accumulating snowmelt and storm runoff must be removed by artificial measures.

Water policies

Water policy making has long traditions in Hungary. However, the changes in political regime, restructuring of economy and the shift to market economy, further the requirements of sustainable development made new approaches to water policy formulation necessary. The new water policy of Hungary has been shaped during the recent years. One of the most important objectives of the new water management policy is to upgrade the surface- and subsurface waters to the status defined in the EU directives, which will require development efforts much greater than the present ones in the domain of water management. The merits of the Hungarian water law include simple, clear structure, accurate allocation of functions and responsibilities (state, self-government, water user) and unambiguous identification of ownership (exclusive state property, state property, self-government- and private property) covering all projects and waters. One of the outstanding present goals of water management is - with special regard to integration with the EU - to meet the water demands arising in the sectors of economy while complying with the requirements of ecological quality. In Hungary water will be treated as an economic good instead of a social good. Therefore, it will be determined basically - and in the future - according to its market value. Hopefully, this will considerably influence the use of the water saving methods and increase awareness about the importance of water.

ICID and National Committee

The Hungary joined ICID in 1955 and established the Hungarian National Committee, ICID (HUCID). The 9^th and 16^th European Regional Conferences were held in 1973 and 1992, respectively, in Budapest, Hungary. HUCID gave the following six Vice Presidents to ICID: Prof. E.F. Mosonyi (1964-1967); Prof. John L. Bogardi (1973-1976); Dr. Imre Petrasovits (1980-1983); Dr. Istvan Ijjas (1990-1993); Prof. Ferenc Ligetvari (1999-2002); and Dr. Laszlo G. Hayde (2009-2012). Dr. Sándor Szalai is the President of the Hungarian National Committee and can be contacted at <szalai.sandor@mkk.szie.hu>