488
22.14 Wetlands of Hungary
There are quite a number of wetlands spread
across the length and breadth of Hungary. An
account is briefl y given below.
WOW Demonstration Project: Biharugra
Fishponds, Hungary
The Biharugra Fishponds are one of the most
signifi cant bird habitats in Hungary supporting signifi cant proportion of threatened breeding waterbirds and large concentrations of migratory
waterfowls. Biharugra Fishponds comprise a
low-lying fl oodplain situated between Körösnagyharsány and Mezõgyán in the eastern part of the
country. Notably, there had been a long-lasting and
widespread confl ict between conservation activists
and fi sh farmers in central and eastern Europe.
Under these economic pressures, fi sh farmers
started to look for alternative uses of their fi sh
ponds. However, many of these alternatives do not
support biodiversity. However, fi sh farming is
sometimes incurring losses and the farmers want to
replace it with some other avocation. As such, the
demonstration project at the Biharugra Fishponds
will try to explore ways to introduce nature-friendly
fi sh farming techniques to benefi t both conservation efforts and local users’ needs. In the wider surroundings, uncoordinated development of tourism
is also a cause of concern. The project aspires to
contribute to the protection of these fi sh ponds as
important breeding and stopover sites for migratory waterfowls in central Europe. The project will
also try to experiment with the set-up of a sustainable development model to be later replicated
beyond the project area. Magyar Madártani és
Természetvédelmi Egyesület (MME) is the national
executing agency for the WOW demonstration
project at the Biharugra Fishponds.
22.14.1 Danube River Delta
It is one of the largest and most natural European
wetlands (IUCN 1993 ) having an area of c
6,000 km
2
. It has been degraded by drainage and by
activities related to agricultural development, gravel
extraction and dumping. It is said to be the home of
fl oating marshes of Phragmites communis.
22.15 Wetlands of Portugal
In Portugal, wetland coverage has been estimated
as 130,943 ha approx., of which approx.
66,096 ha accounted for Ramsar sites. However,
it is believed to be an underestimate because the
estimation was based mainly on the 49 wetland
sites included in Farinha and Trindade (1994). As
such, one of the main and specifi c aims of the
National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) was, probably, to determine the exact total area covered by
the wetlands in Portugal.
22.15.1 Status of Wetland
Inventories
In Portugal, the exercise for preparation of
National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) was, probably, launched in 1999. The inventory and
monitoring tools under the MedWet initiative
now constitute the baseline method for the
NWI (Inventário Nacional de Zonas Húmidas).
This project was aimed to map and identify all
wetlands in mainland Portugal (i.e. excluding
the Madeira and Azores islands) and to gather
data on every site larger than 1 ha. It was
expected that the NWI would give objective
information on the status of human activities
and their impact on wetlands. About 900
wetlands were identifi ed and entered in the
MedWet Database, with a total area of c
78,034 ha. However, for accelerating the
works, it was decided to give priority to the
protected areas and Ramsar sites. In the former, all wetland habitats had been planned to
be inventorised, with different levels of detail.
The latter had been delineated and mapped
using photointerpretation and a GIS (ArcView).
For other wetland types, wetlands larger than
1 ha were included. Smaller sites could also be
recorded, if they are interesting, such as temporary ponds on the southwest of Portugal. The
inventory included estuaries (or ‘rias’) and
coastal/marine wetlands.
Before being visited, the selected wetland
sites were mapped through a GIS following the
fi rst level of the MedWet Habitat Description
22 Wetlands of Europe
22.14 Wetlands of Hungary
There are quite a number of wetlands spread
across the length and breadth of Hungary. An
account is briefl y given below.
WOW Demonstration Project: Biharugra
Fishponds, Hungary
The Biharugra Fishponds are one of the most
signifi cant bird habitats in Hungary supporting signifi cant proportion of threatened breeding waterbirds and large concentrations of migratory
waterfowls. Biharugra Fishponds comprise a
low-lying fl oodplain situated between Körösnagyharsány and Mezõgyán in the eastern part of the
country. Notably, there had been a long-lasting and
widespread confl ict between conservation activists
and fi sh farmers in central and eastern Europe.
Under these economic pressures, fi sh farmers
started to look for alternative uses of their fi sh
ponds. However, many of these alternatives do not
support biodiversity. However, fi sh farming is
sometimes incurring losses and the farmers want to
replace it with some other avocation. As such, the
demonstration project at the Biharugra Fishponds
will try to explore ways to introduce nature-friendly
fi sh farming techniques to benefi t both conservation efforts and local users’ needs. In the wider surroundings, uncoordinated development of tourism
is also a cause of concern. The project aspires to
contribute to the protection of these fi sh ponds as
important breeding and stopover sites for migratory waterfowls in central Europe. The project will
also try to experiment with the set-up of a sustainable development model to be later replicated
beyond the project area. Magyar Madártani és
Természetvédelmi Egyesület (MME) is the national
executing agency for the WOW demonstration
project at the Biharugra Fishponds.
22.14.1 Danube River Delta
It is one of the largest and most natural European
wetlands (IUCN 1993 ) having an area of c
6,000 km
2
. It has been degraded by drainage and by
activities related to agricultural development, gravel
extraction and dumping. It is said to be the home of
fl oating marshes of Phragmites communis.
22.15 Wetlands of Portugal
In Portugal, wetland coverage has been estimated
as 130,943 ha approx., of which approx.
66,096 ha accounted for Ramsar sites. However,
it is believed to be an underestimate because the
estimation was based mainly on the 49 wetland
sites included in Farinha and Trindade (1994). As
such, one of the main and specifi c aims of the
National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) was, probably, to determine the exact total area covered by
the wetlands in Portugal.
22.15.1 Status of Wetland
Inventories
In Portugal, the exercise for preparation of
National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) was, probably, launched in 1999. The inventory and
monitoring tools under the MedWet initiative
now constitute the baseline method for the
NWI (Inventário Nacional de Zonas Húmidas).
This project was aimed to map and identify all
wetlands in mainland Portugal (i.e. excluding
the Madeira and Azores islands) and to gather
data on every site larger than 1 ha. It was
expected that the NWI would give objective
information on the status of human activities
and their impact on wetlands. About 900
wetlands were identifi ed and entered in the
MedWet Database, with a total area of c
78,034 ha. However, for accelerating the
works, it was decided to give priority to the
protected areas and Ramsar sites. In the former, all wetland habitats had been planned to
be inventorised, with different levels of detail.
The latter had been delineated and mapped
using photointerpretation and a GIS (ArcView).
For other wetland types, wetlands larger than
1 ha were included. Smaller sites could also be
recorded, if they are interesting, such as temporary ponds on the southwest of Portugal. The
inventory included estuaries (or ‘rias’) and
coastal/marine wetlands.
Before being visited, the selected wetland
sites were mapped through a GIS following the
fi rst level of the MedWet Habitat Description
22 Wetlands of Europe