Hungary
From SEA.unu.edu/wiki
Contents |
Legal context
Legislative proposals
The 1995 LIII Act on the Basic Principles of Environment Protection contains the provisions for EA of legislative proposals in Article 43, paragraph 1-3. It requires that legislation with environmental relevance (i.e. affecting a) environmental elements, b) environmental quality and c) human health through the environment) has to be submitted to the National Environmental Council. The Council, which is made up of representatives of environmental NGOs, professional and economic bodies and academia, issues its opinion on the legislative proposal prior to decision-making. If this step is omitted in the process of preparing the legislation, it can be brought forward to the Constitutional Court - as it has happened several times.
Plans and programs
Hungary adopted the SEA Directive in its 2/2005 Governmental Decree on Environmental Assessment, which conforms to all of the requirements of the SEA Directive. In addition to the plans and programs listed in the SEA Directive.
Case Studies
From 2000 to 2004 a few large scale pilot projects were conducted in Hungary. For example the SEA of the Highway Development Program of the Széchenyi Plan in 2001 and the SEA of the Regional Operational Program of the National Development Plan in 2002-2004.
After 2005 the number of SEAs suddenly increased: 20 were begun in 2006 and 5 in 2007 as of March. This can be put down to on the one hand the adoption of the Decree on Environmental Assessment which made SEA a mandatory element of the strategic level plans and programs' planning process; on the other hand to the large number of documents subject to SEA that were developed for the EU 2007-2013 planning period.
SEAs prepared or being prepared in Hungary up to March 2007 * Express motorway network * Regional water management plan: area between Duna and Tisza rivers * SEA of the Multimodal Transport Corridor Warsaw-Budapest (The Danube corridor) * EA of the Széchenyi Plan’s Highway Program * SEA of the Regional Operational Program of the First National Development Plan * EA of the Possible Alternatives for Supplying Excess Water to the Lake Balaton * SEA of the Revisions to the Vásárhelyi Plan * SEA of the Transport Policy * EA of the National Development Policy Concept * EA of the Long Term Development Program of the Important Road Developments in the Highway Network * SEA of the Environmental Operational Program 2007- 2013 * EA of the New Hungary Development Plan 2007- 2013 * SEA of the Environment and Energy Operational Program 2007- 2013 * SEA of the Transport Operational Program 2007- 2013 * SEA of the Economic Development Operational Program 2007-2013 * SEA of the Social Renewal Operational Program 2007-2013 * SEA of the State Reform Operational Program 2007-2013 * SEA of the Electronic Administration Operational Program 2007-2013 * SEA of the Social Infrastructure Operational Program 2007-2013 * SEAs of the 7 Regional Operational Programs of the New Hungary Development Plan 2007-2013 * SEA of the Rural Development Strategic Plan and its Operational Program 2007- 2013 * SEA of the Development Proposal for the Óbuda Island * SEA of the National Country Plan * SEA of the Fisheries Operational Program 2007-2013 * SEA of the Hungary-Slovakia Territorial Co-operation Program 2007- 2013 * SEA of the Hungary-Romania Territorial Co-operation Program 2007- 2013 * SEA of the Hungary-Serbia Territorial Co-operation Program 2007- 2013 * SEA of the Hungary-Croatia Territorial Co-operation Program 2007- 2013 * SEA of the Revision of the Balaton Regional Development Plan * SEA of the Hungarian Sustainable Development Strategy
SEA stages
Evaluation
Please note that this section is currently being updated with any queries please contact me at marta(dot)vetier(at)gmail(dot)com
Quality of the SEA process
- late start
- difficulties in public participation
- continuous improvements in cooperation with planners and decision-makers
Quality of the SEA documents
generally good but further improvements needed in referencing and handing uncertainties
Effectiveness
little direct effects (i.e changes in the strategic initiative), but huge indirect effects and side benefits, especially learning, awareness raising and networking aspects
Further information
- EIA network for CITs (this should be the first port of call)
- 1997 article about SEA in the Czech Republic, Hungay, Poland and the Slovak Republic
- Sofia initiative 1998: Recommendations on SEA in Central and Eastern Europe and in Newly Independent States
- Information on transport SEAs in CITs (see OECD/ECMT conference, Dusik presentation)
- Machac, M.D., R. Rimmel and L. Zenaty (2000) "SEA in the Czech Republic", Ch. 6 in Partidario and Clark (2000).
- NATO, 1996, Methodology Focalisation, Evaluation and Scope of Environmental Impact Assessment, Fourth Report: Strategic Environmental Assessment: Theory Versus Practice, Report No. 212
- NATO, 1996, Methodology Focalisation, Evaluation and Scope of Environmental Impact Assessment, Report of the 11th workshop, Strategic Environmental Assessent in Landuse Planning, Warsaw, Poland
Information posted here by Márta Vetier 24/04/2007. Please note that further updates will follow.
