Hidrológiai Közlöny, 2016 (96. évfolyam)
2016 / 3. szám - HISTORICAL SNAPSHOT - Ijjas István: Good Practices for Integrated Water Resources Management in EU and Hungary
8 Hungarian Journal of Hydrology Vol. 96. No. 3. 2016. Good Practices for Integrated Water Resources Management in EU and in Hungary István Ijjas Budapest University of Technology and Economics Department of Hydraulic and Water Resources Engineering, 1111 Budapest, Műegyetem rakpart 3. Hungary (E-mail: ijjas.istvan@epito.bme.hu ) Abstract The main objective of the paper is to provide an overview on the good practices of integrated water resources management (IWRM) in Hungary. The total area of Hungary belongs to the Danube Basin and the country is member of the EU. Therefore, the good practices of IWRM are discussed together: in the levels of EU, the Danube Basin and Hungary. The paper underlines the important need for good practices of integration, provides an overview of the history, the present status and future challenges of IWRM in Hungary. The paper discusses the good practices for integration of water and environmental policies in EU level, in large river basins and macroeconomic-regions, and for integration of water protection policy and inland navigation and hydropower development policy. The Integrated Tisza River Basin Management Plan, the implementation of RBM planning under the EU WFD in Hungary, and finally, the fully IWRM versus WFD issue are also discussed. Key words Integrated water resources management, river basin management, Water Framework Directive, good practices for IWRM, Danube Basin INTRODUCTION The paper provides an overview of the history, the present status, and future challenges of integrated water resources management (IWRM) and good practices of IWRM in Hungary, being a member of the EU, and the total area of which belongs to the Danube Basin. Major challenges of integrated water resources management to be addressed are similar at various levels, such as the EU, the Danube Basin and Hungary (GWP 2015). These are why, these issues are discussed together at different levels. IWRM has been discussed as principle and practice by several recent international conferences, world forums and international summits, and manuals (GWP 2003, 2012, Shah 2016, UN-Water 2008, UN 2012). It is also the core principle of River Basin Management Planning (RBMP), according to the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). Need for good practices of integration The WFD sets clear guidelines for production, review and updating of the river basin management plans for the achievement of the environmental objectives, but it lacks providing guidelines for the planning of measures for the achievement of social and economic objectives. For an effective RBMP it is necessary to develop management and planning practices, and practices of integration, linking social and economic development with the protection of natural ecosystems. National and international guidelines should be developed to achieve the environmental, social and economic objectives (GWP 2015). EU Member States shall ensure in the RBMPs the establishment of the programme of measures, and to achieve the environmental objectives established under Article 4 of WFD. An efficient inter-sector collaboration (the good practices of integration), particularly between agriculture, rural development, water industry, energy production, transportation, tourism, climate adaptation, and nature conservation should be developed, to support the identification of the most cost-effective combinations of measures to achieve the environmental, social and economic objectives. HISTORY OF INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN HUNGARY Integrated water resources management is not an entirely new concept or activity in Hungary. One of the first publications related to the IWRM concept (GWP 2015) was a manual “Multiple-Purpose River Basin Development”, published in 1955 by the UN and three years later, another report on “Integrated River Basin Development” (1958) was published also by the UN. In the 1970s, there was a series of UN-sponsored studies and events with active participation of Hungary. UN Seminar on integrated river basin development in Budapest, Hungary in 1975 An Interregional Seminar on River Basin and Inter- Basin Development, organized by the United Nations and sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme was held in Budapest, Hungary, from 16-26 September 1975 (UNDP-NWA Hungary 1976). The Seminar was attended by 72 participants from 33 countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and by representatives of four international organizations. The seminar reviewed and discussed selected policy issues of river basin development and management with special emphasis on the interrelations between river basin development and over-all socioeconomic growths, the role of ex-post evaluations in decision making and planning, and issues relating to cooperative management and development of river basins shared by two or more countries. The introductory overview by Dégen discussed the major ideas of the integrated approach in water management and perspectives of the integrated development of river basins. History of IWRM planning in Hungary Hungary has a long tradition in water management planning (Ijjas and Tóth 2000, UNDP-NWA Hungary 1976). The major regional/national (integrated) water management plans in Hungary are:
