The importance of adequate water quantity and quality will increase worldwide in the coming decades. Water security, access to clean drinking water, and predictable and safe availability of water as a key resource for agriculture, food supply, industry, trade, or tourism will become key issues for all countries – and less and less a given. It is also an issue of growing importance in international relations. Water scarcity is already a central factor in major conflicts and will become even more so in the coming decades.
In this situation, Hungary has a particularly large amount of work to do, since, contrary to popular perception, Hungary is not a water superpower but a water-scarce country. 94% of Hungary’s water resources come from rivers and streams from abroad, and in terms of per capita domestic renewable water resources per year, Hungary is a water-poor country. Climate change further increases our vulnerability: extreme weather events result in both damages due to seasonal water abundance and droughts due to water scarcity. This is compounded by the thoughtless and highly wasteful use of water: in agricultural areas and our cities, we want to get rid of rainfall as quickly as possible without considering the needs in the period of water scarcity or the positive impact of retained water on the quality of life of local residents. Meanwhile, we are using up our groundwater resources without ensuring they are renewed. In doing so, we are creating serious risks for drinking water security, agriculture, tourism, commerce, the livability of cities and, above all, the quality of life of the Hungarian people.
