Impact of climate change on Hungarian Water Management Strategy as a case study for other European countries

Abstract

The European Union is strongly supporting regional integration tailored to build country resilience towards climate change driven hazards. This cooperation is developed by launching and implementation of the EU regional strategies. Poland is strongly involved in realization of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region while Hungary in EU Strategy for the Danube Region. On one hand both regions have their own problems, however, on the other they face similar challenges due to climate change phenomena. This argument encourages to learn from each other. One of the key problems related to climate change is water management, including flood management and sufficient access to fresh water. Nowadays, southern region of Europe, like Danube Region including Hungary, is being more and more tackled by limited access to fresh water. This is not the case in central and northern Europe yet. However, the problem can emerge soon in the Baltic Sea Region if the climate change will be continued. There are already first symptoms of such scenario. Therefore, the main aim of the article is to present the Danube Region and Hungarian experiences of water management in the context of climate change phenomena. The results constitute a lesson learnt from this region that can be easily adopted to the current and future challenges of the Baltic Sea Region.