Report

Investigating Stakeholder Decision Priorities for Adapting to Climate Change in the Lake Balaton Recreational Area of Hungary

By Livia Bizikova, László Pintér on April 26, 2010
This report provides a summary of the outcomes of a series of capacity-building workshops conducted in Hungary's Lake Balaton region as part of the Balaton Adaptation Project. The main purpose of the workshops was to discuss local stakeholders' past and present decisions about adapting to climate change in the broader context of other forces of global and local change, and to outline adaptation alternatives that could be implemented in the future. The four workshops were conducted between October 26, 2007 and February 27, 2008 in three towns around Lake Balaton: Siófok, Keszthely and Balatonalmádi. Tourism is the main source of income for small businesses and municipalities in the towns around Lake Balaton. Recent changes in weather patterns during the main tourist season (and beyond) increased the interest of regional actors, including the Lake Balaton Development Coordination Agency, in investigating local vulnerabilities, adaptation options and the capacities needed to successfully tackle the local impacts of climate change. Building on what we heard in the four workshops, we present recommendations for initiatives that promote sustainable development projects that are based on traditional local knowledge, support conservation initiatives, diversify tourist attractions and services, and adjust current development priorities and legislation to create opportunities for implementing such initiatives.

Report details

Publisher
IISD
Copyright
IISD, 2010