The subject and necessity of the project:

The Hungarian grasslands have outstanding nature conservation importance in European scale. Most of them are “secondary” grasslands, which means they were formed in the past few thousand years due to the considerate land use methods. Their maintenance and the preservation of their rich biodiversity depend on the human use in the future too. The social changes of the past few decades did not contribute to the preservation of the grasslands. The total area of the grasslands decreased with 2,7% in 2005 (source: KSH). The main reason for their vanishing is their conversion to cropland and afforestation. Frequently, the spontaneous spread of shrubs and trees begin due to the lack of use. The reduction of their natural value is a result of many typically improper management method used commonly in Hungary. Detailes

The Life Nature Project “Habitat Management on the Pannonian Grasslands in Hungary” is trying to find a solution to this complex problem.

The objectives of the project:

• To summarise and continuously update the knowledge required for the habitat management, and to ensure availability of this knowledge for practitioners.
• To ensure ecological and economical sustainability of grasslands.
• To ensure professional background for the management of priority habitats (HD) and buffer zones in agricultural landscapes.
• To ensure continuous information transfer, and to provide information to the professional site managers, and to the general public.

The beneficiary:

MME / BirdLife Hungary

Partners:

Duna-Dráva National Park Directorate, Duna-Ipoly National Park Directorate, Mr. Imre Papp farmer, Mrs. Viszlóné Erzsébet Oláh farmer

Interval of the project: 1st of January 2006 – 30th of June 2010

Project budget:

Total project budget: 1.082.424 €
• EC financial contribution: 62% of total budget
• Beneficiary own contribution: 26%
• Participants contribution: 12%

Registration number: LIFE05NAT/HU/000117