Situated one hour's drive south from capital Budapest, Lake Balaton is a major attraction in landlocked Hungary. However, the 1 million visitors drawn to the country’s favourite summer retreat each year put a heavy strain on the local environment and makes precautionary measures necessary.
Through the EEA Grants, the region has established a €1.6 million fund to preserve and improve the environment in the area through small-scale projects carried out in partnerships between municipalities and public benefit companies, social actors, NGOs and other civil society organisations.
The Lake Balaton Development Coordination Agency (LBDCA) is managing the fund and director Gábor Molnár underlines its importance to the region. The fund is the first regional source of financial assistance aimed at civil society organisations involved in environmental protection.
Molnár explains that the area was in a poor environmental condition in the 1980s, but thanks to government-financed environmental infrastructure projects, such as water treatment and waste management systems, improvements are now becoming highly visible in this region. "Now we need to mobilise local sources who can continue the work of improving the environment through small-scale projects," Molnár says.
Supported activities include increasing green spaces through planting flowers and trees, eradicating ragweed, maintaining bicycle paths, eliminating illegal waste disposal sites and organising waste collection campaigns in the nearby communities.