The project will mainstream biodiversity conservation within floodplain management across the Tisza River Floodplain. The project will significantly improve management of 1,600 km2 through activities within pilot areas, while moderately influence an estimated area of 9,400 km2 (about 20% of the Great Hungarian Plain) applying supportive policy environment and institutional capacity building at the local level.
The project addresses floodplain management in the Upper Tisza – the area North and East of Tisza Lake up to the borders with Slovakia, Ukraine and Romania. The project area constitutes the counties Szabolcs-Szatmár, Hajdu-Bihar, Bács-Kiskun and Békés - ones of the poorest parts of Hungary. The project works on local level with local initiatives providing support development of Action plans oriented to integrated and sustainable management of land, water, habitats and biodiversity, that support the socio-economic development. The Action plans will be used at a tool to leverage funding from different resources and ensure that this funding is effectively used to meet environmental, social and economic goals. The project will help to monitor the Action Plan implementation and impact.
Expected Outcomes:
* Establish a sustainable regional mechanism – a Platform and a Tisza Floodplain Technical Support Office (TFTO) - to support local initiatives and provide them with a direct communication channel to national decision-makers. The Platform and TFTO will provide demand-driven coordination and technical support to local initiatives and activities implemented in the region and will ensure the mainstreaming of findings and lessons learnt from local level into regional and national level processes. The established structures will remain in operation also after the closure of the project and will provide services to local initiatives, e.g. technical support, assistance in drafting project proposals, organizing training, establishing network for experience exchange, undertaking technical studies; * Establishment of tools supporting Integrated holistic floodplain management (IHFM) including a) comprehensive guidelines for land, water and biodiversity and habitat management in an integrated manner supportive for socio-economic development, b) program for managing invasive species, c) monitoring network; * Development of site-specific Action plans focusing to operationalization of model approach defined under outcome 2 with the guidance and assistance of the project. Establishment of a Micro Grant Biodiversity program to provide initial contribution to the implementation of the Action plans. * Mainstream of the IHFM pro-biodiversity approach into the related national policy through reviewing the national Plans and Programs, advocating and lobbying for necessary adjustments and awareness rising.
