Hidrológiai Közlöny, 2016 (96. évfolyam)
2016 / 3. szám - HISTORICAL SNAPSHOT - Kerekes-Steindl Zsuzsanna: Water quality protection in Hungary - policy and status
56 Hungarian Journal of Hydrology Vol. 96. No. 3. 2016. to be strengthened and stabilised to improve the quality of permits and intensify the authority controls on operators, as well as improve the monitoring of water status. More financial sources are necessary from state budget to support the operation of water protection authorities and other relevant organisations and to finance the implementation of program of measures specified in river basin management plans. The cost recovery principle should be enforced in the financing system of the state institutions and programs of measures. Much better co-operation is necessary with other sectors to ensure more effective integration of the water protection policy into regulation, strategies and incentive-systems of other economic sectors. During the „classical” type of water management interventions, investment programs, the interest and aspects of water, nature and ecosystem protection should be taken into account more effectively. The involvement of the public and stakeholders into planning and implementation processes should be more effective, promoting the improvement of the environmentally conscious thinking and behaviour of public on the field of water protection. (Re)establishment of the scientific background institutional system for water management is urgent. Active and effective participation in international water co-operations also needs more expert- background and institutional capacity and more financial sources. REFERENCES ICPDR (2015). Danube River Basin District Management Plan, Update 2015, www.icpdr.org ICPDR (2016). ICPDR TNMN Yearbook, 2014 www.icpdr.org Környezetgazdálkodási Intézet (2003) Maps of surface water monitoring networks and their quality Report.(ln Hungarian) Ministry of Environmental Protection and Water (2005). Environmental State of the Country 2005. (In Hungarian) Non -published departmental and institutional background documents, reports (1970-2016) Országos Környezetvédelmi Információs Rendszer (OKI) (National Environmental Protection Information System), www.web . okir. hu VGT1 (2009) Magyarország első vízgyűjtő-gazdálkodási terve (First River Basin Management Plan of Hungary) (Published by Gov. Decree No. 1042/2012. (11.23.)) www.euvki.hu , www. vizeink, hu VGT2 (2015) Magyarország felülvizsgált 2015. évi vízgyűjtő-gazdálkodási terve (Updated River Basin Management Plan of Hungary, 2015) (Published by Gov. Decree No. 1155/2016. (III. 31.)) www.euvki.hu , www.vizeink.hu ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank my former colleagues at the Ministry of Interior for their help sharing their special knowledge on the subject of this paper with me. I much appreciate their support on gathering information about the “historical beginnings” of water protection legislation and preparing illustrations for this paper. THE AUTHOR ZSUZSANNA KEREKES — STEINDL is chemical and environmental engineer with long term expertise on water quality issues of Hungarian water resources. She has decades of professional experiences on the field of water protection and water quality analytics. In the first period of her professional career she worked for a regional water protection authority, then she worked at a ministerial organisation, responsible for co-ordination of water protection administration issues. Until September 2016 she was the deputy head of the River Basin Management and Water Protection Department in the Ministry of Interior. After her retirement she is actively involved in the work of Global Water Partnership organization, supporting the organisation with her professional knowledge on voluntary basis.
