Hidrológiai Közlöny, 2016 (96. évfolyam)
2016 / 3. szám - HISTORICAL SNAPSHOT - Ijjas István: Good Practices for Integrated Water Resources Management in EU and Hungary
István Ijjas: Good Practices for Integrated Water Resources Management in EU and in Hungary 9 The General Tisza Regulation Plan, 1845/46 The first example of comprehensive, regional water management planning in Hungary is the general regulation plan of the River Tisza, prepared by Pál Vásárhelyi in 1845/46. The plan has served for long years as the basis of water management developments in the Tisza Valley. Irrigation Master Plan for the Trans-Tisza Region, 1937 Following several long-term water management concepts developed in the first half of the 20th century, the water policy formulated in the 1930's had far reaching effects, as a part of which a master plan was prepared in 1937 for irrigation in the Trans-Tisza Region (the region to the East of the River Tisza). Implementation of the plan extended to the second half of the century. National Master Plan of Water Management, 1954 The first comprehensive national Water Management Master Plan was completed in 1954 and identified primarily the water use objectives for a time horizon of 15 years. National Master Plan of Water Management, 1965 Work on the second Water Management Master Plan was completed in 1965. Starting from the situation in 1960, development projects considered technically desirable were outlined therein for the period from 1960 to 1981 and beyond, going into slightly warranted details and in some branches, like irrigation, industrial water supply, water transport, hydropower development, with over-ambitious prognoses, which did not materialize to these days. In some branches, on the other hand, (e.g. domestic water supply) the actual progress has surpassed the prognosticated one. International Master Plan of Water Resources Management of the Tisza River Basin, 1977 The Tisza River Basin is shared by five countries, which strived for flexible and continuous cooperation. Co-operation established under the Council of Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) was extended to the preparation of the Integrated Water Management Master Plan of the Tisza Basin (including improvement of flood control, water pollution control, ground water use and protection, irrigation, etc.). It was an international, integrated river basin management plan (Dégen 1974, OVF 1977). National Master Plan of Water Management, 1984 The third National Water Management Master Plan was published in 1984. This reflected a philosophy departing from that underlying the former ones. Instead of controlling long-term water management development, it was intended to form part of the planning process in which an updated situation assessment is presented, opportunities are identified and decision options are offered as the groundwork of further planning. Integrated river basin management planning 1993- 1998 In autumn 1993 a committee has been set up by the National Water Authority (OVF) with the responsibility to draft general guidelines on RBMP. According to the Hungarian Guidelines drafted in 1994 (National Water Authority 1994), RBM plans represented a vision of water management within river basins, set water management and environmental objectives and guides all uses, and, indirectly, the whole water environment to comply with these objectives. The existing status of the water environment was compared with the objectives and from this comparison, management options were developed. Using the guidelines, 7 river basin management plans were completed in the period 1996-2000. The seven river basins and the periods of planning were: • Általér River Basin, 1998 • Felső Bácska River Basin, 1997 • Hortobágy-Berettyó River Basin, 1996-1998 • Hungarian Part of the Hernád River Basin, 1997-1998 • Hungarian Part of the Maros River Basin, 1997- 1998 • Lónyai-főcsatoma River Basin, 1998 • Sajó-Bodva River Basin, 1998 River Basin Management under the EU Water Framework Directive as part of IWRM The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000/60/EC) came into force in December 2000. The purpose of the Directive is to establish a framework for the protection and enhancement of the good status of inland surface waters, transitional waters, coastal waters and groundwater, and to ensure a sustainable use of water resources. EU Member States (EU MS) should aim to achieve ‘good status’ in all bodies of surface water and groundwater by 2015, respectively by 2027 at the latest (EC 2000). In Hungary, the 12 regional water authorities have been organized in the 1950s on the river basin principle. Later, for planning purposes under the implementation of WFD, 33 river sub-catchment units were identified in 1996. Half of these units are situated totally within Hungary, the other half are of transboundary character. The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) plays a leading role and is the key tool for water policy integration in EU, specifying water protection targets in balance with economic interests. The WFD is one of the core policy elements for integrated water management, but many other environmental and other directives, economic sector policies and conventions need to be considered for comprehensive policy integration related to infrastructure development. GOOD PRACTICES FOR INTEGRATION OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES IN THE EU Coordination and Assessment of River Basin Management Planning in EU level Implementation of the WFD has been supported at EU level since 2001 by an unprecedented informal cooperation under the Common Implementation Strategy (CIS), led by Water Directors of Member States and the
