Abstract
Increasing climate extremities, as consequences of climate change, highly affect the public and farmers in the SE Carpathian Basin. Our research aimed at the investigation of the perceptions and experiences of public, farmers and decision-makers on drought and inland excess water problems on the Hungarian part of this region, since their knowledge and cooperation are essential in the future planning of sustainable water management. Their opinions were explored by 481 questionnaires and 52 in-depth interviews addressing the perceived climate change impacts in everyday life and agriculture, causes of drought and inland excess water, possibilities of mitigation and adaptation, and sustainability of the present farming structure. The spatial distribution of the answers was compared with the spatial pattern of drought and inland excess water sensitivity based on environmental indicators. The results confirmed their high correspondence reflecting a realistic knowledge on severity, significance and the contributing factors. Individual responsibility, the lack of financial resources and an uncertain vision of public were considered as major weak points that could be improved to foster the implementation of an effective water management strategy. High efforts are necessary to outline the framework of inclusive planning processes with exact roles of all actors and find ways to motivate co-operation willingness and increase individual responsibility.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdel-Monem T, PytlikZillig LM, Bernadt TK et al (2014) Climate Change Survey Measures: Exploring Perceived Bias and Question Interpretation. Nebraska Public Policy Center. Paper 35
Ashraf M, Routray JK (2013) Perception and understanding of drought and coping strategies of farming households in north-West Balochistan. Int J Disaster Risk Red 5:49–60
Babbie E (2010) The practice of social research. Belmont
Blanka V, Mezősi G, Meyer B (2013) Projected changes in the drought hazard in Hungary due to climate change. Időjárás 117:219–237
Blennow K, Persson J (2009) Climate change: motivation for taking measure to adapt. Glob Environ Chang 19:100–104
Bozán, Cs, Körösparti J, Pásztor L et al (2013) Excess water hazard mapping on the South Great Hungarian Plain. In: Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology. Paper 0749
Creswell JW (2009) Research design: qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods, approaches. Sage Publications, USA
de Stefano L, Urquijo J, Kampragkou E et al (2015) Lessons learnt from the analysis of past drought management practices in selected European regions: experience to guide future policies. European Water 49:107–117
del Saz-Salazar S, García-Rubio MA, González-Gómez F et al (2016) Managing water resources under conditions of scarcity: on consumers’ willingness to pay for improving water supply infrastructure. Water Resour Manag 30:1723–1738
Dessai S, Sims C (2010) Public perception of drought and climate change in Southeast England. Environ Hazards 9:340–357
EU UWWD (1991) Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy
Farkas JZ, Hoyk E, Kovács AD (2014) Klímaváltozás a gazdálkodók szemszögéből. A Falu 29(2):23–37
Fedra K (2015) River Basin management: what do we really want? Environ. Process 2:511
Fiala K, Blanka V, Zs L et al (2014) Drought severity and its effect on agricultural production in the Hungarian-Serbian cross-border area. J Environ Geogr 7(3–4):43–51
Finucane ML, Peterson J (2010) Human Dimensions of Drought in Hawai‘i. An Exploratory Study of Perceptions of and Responses to Drought Risk by Farmers, Ranchers, and Service Providers in Hawai‘i. East-West Center, Honolulu. http://www.pacificrisa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Human-Dimensions-of-Drought-Final-Report2.pdf
Forzieri G, Feyen L, Russo S et al (2016) Multi-hazard assessment in Europe under climate change. ClimChang 137:105
Gál N, Farsang A (2013) Weather extremities and soil processes: impact of excess water on soil structure in the South Hungarian Great Plain. In: Lóczy D (ed) Geomorphological Impacts of Extreme Weather: Case Studies from Central and Eastern Europe. Dordrecht, 313–325
Henle K, Alard D, Clitherow J et al (2008) Identifying and managing the conflicts between agriculture and biodiversity conservation in Europe–a review. Agric Ecosyst Environ 124(1–2):60–71
HMS (2015) Hungarian Meteorological Service database http://www.met.hu/en/idojaras/
IPCC (2014) Climate change synthesis report. Contribution of working groups I. II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Geneva, Switzerland, 151pp
Kampragou E, Eleftheriadou E, Mylopoulos Y (2007) Implementing equitable water allocation in transboundary catchments: the case of river Nestos/Mesta. Water Resour Manag 21:909–918
Kendall L (2008) The conduct of qualitative interview: research questions, methodological issues, and researching online. In: Coiro J, Knobel M, Lankshear C et al (eds) Handbook of research on new literacies. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, New York, pp 133–149
Kiss T, Benyhe B (2015) Micro-topographical surface alteration caused by tillage and irrigation canal maintenance and its consequences on excess water development. Soil Tillage Res 148:106–118
Kuti L, Kerék B, Vatai J (2006) Problem and prognosis of excess water inundation based on agrogeological factors. Carpathian J Earth Environ Sci 1(1):5–18
Ladányi Z, Blanka V, Meyer B et al (2015) Multi-indicator sensitivity analysis of climate change effects on landscapes in the Kiskunság National Park. Hungary Ecol Indic 58:8–20
Mezősi G, Blanka V, Zs L et al (2016) Expected mid- and long-term changes in drought hazard for the south-eastern Carpathian Basin. Carpathian J. Earth Environ. Sci. 11(2):355–366
Oppenheimer M, Todorov A (2006) Global warming: the psychology of long-term risk. Clim Chang 77:1–6
Pálfai I (2003) Magyarország belvíz-veszélyeztetettségi térképe. Vízügyi közlemények 85(3):510–524
Pálfai I, Herceg Á (2011) Droughtness of Hungary and Balkan peninsula. Riscuri si Catastrofe 9(2):145–154.
Pistocchi A, Beck H, Bisselink B et al (2015) Water scenarios for the Danube River Basin: Elements for the assessment of the Danube agriculture-energy-water nexus. EUR27700EN
Slegers MFW (2008) ‘if only it would rain”: farmers’ perceptions of rainfall and drought in semi-arid Central Tanzania J Arid Environ 72:2106–2123.
Spinoni J, Antofie T, Barbosa P et al (2013) An overview of drought events in the Carpathian region in 1961-2010. Adv Sci Res 10:21–32
Spinoni J, Naumann G, Vogt J (2015) Spatial patterns of European droughts under a moderate emission scenario. Adv Sci Res 12:179–186
Stoutenborough JW, Vedlitz A (2014) Public attitudes toward water management and drought in the United States. Water Resour Manag 28(3):697–714
Szatmári J, van Leeuwen (eds) (2013) Inland excess water–Belvíz–Suvisne unutrasnje vode. Universities of Szeged and Novi Sad, Szeged-Novi Sad, 154p
Uitto UI, Duda AM (2002) Management of transboundary water resources: lessons from international cooperation for conflict prevention. Geogr J 168(4):365–378
UNEP (2012) The UN-Water Status Report on the Application of Integrated Approaches to Water Resources Management
van der Linden S (2015) The social-psychological determinants of climate change risk perceptions: towards a comprehensive model. JEnviron Psychol 41:112–124
Walker WE, Loucks DP, Carr G (2015) Social responses to water management decisions. EnvironProcess 2:485–509
Wilhite DA, Svoboda MD, Hayes MJ (2007) Understanding the complex impacts of drought: a key to enhancing drought mitigation and preparedness. Water Resour Manag 21:763–774
Wilmot A (2005) Designing sampling strategies for qualitative social research: with particular reference to the Office for National Statistics. Qualitative Respondent Register
WWAP (2015) The United Nations world water development report 2015: water for a sustainable world. UNESCO, Paris
Ziolkowska JR, Ziolkowski B (2016) Effectiveness of water Management in Europe in the 21st century. Water Resour Manag 30:2261–2274
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme of the European Union under the projects HUSRB/1203/121/130 and HUSRB/1002/121/088.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Blanka, V., Ladányi, Z., Szilassi, P. et al. Public Perception on Hydro-Climatic Extremes and Water Management Related to Environmental Exposure, SE Hungary. Water Resour Manage 31, 1619–1634 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-017-1603-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-017-1603-z