Attila Barta

Települési környezetvédelem Magyarországon: Egy kutatás előfeltevései

The following essay is an introductory study of the research “The Roles and Instruments of Local Governments in the Realization of Ecological Sustainability” – a primarily legal research, also involving social and political sciences, supported by Hungary’s National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH). The research heavily draws upon the assumption that Hungarian local governments have in-depth knowledge about environmental protection even though there is not any comprehensive analysis backing this argument. Our project then – as its main contribution – hopes to fill this knowledge gap about the degree and depth of local governments’ knowledge considering environmental protection. However, it should be noted that only the legal interpretation of this topic is not enough, therefore – according to our research plan – in order to realize the before mentioned goal, mixed (both legal and empirical) research methods will be used at the same time. For instance, beside classic legal methods as legislative analysis, questionnaire research among 300 local governments, different focus group interviews, and – in order to have a really deep impression of the topic – fieldwork among 10-15 local governments will be carried out. Accordingly, the essay’s goal is to present both the above-mentioned research’s basic assumptions and expected results. However, it should be noted, that because of the project’s legal nature this research cannot be exhaustive in every detail. Our opinion is that the local level plays an indispensable role in realizing ecological sustainability, although it is not the only factor (and is neither the primary one) in doing so. The reasons for this are that, first, environmental protection is considered to be a local affair and, second, that local governments possess several legal and non-legal tools to provide this duty. Notwithstanding, if local governments bear too many responsibilities and unnecessarily extended authorities, they will be unable to properly perform their duties, resulting in ineffective environmental law and policies (as several problems will not be approached on the local level). On the other hand, if the local governments receive a too limited set of responsibilities and authorities, their self-governance rights will be curtailed, with, eventually, the same result. The solution is to find a balance which – considering the ever-changing possibilities and challenges – cannot be a static, but rather a dynamic one. Therefore, according to the research’s assumptions, several changes (e.g. institutional, structural) must be performed to support environmental sustainability. Considering that the demands, interests, and expectations of local communities cannot be neglected, aspects and actions of various actors also should be taken into account.

Geographical aspects of the changes of Hungary’s deconcentrated state administration system between 1990 and 2012

Abstract One of the most important segments of the post-1990 transformation of territory-based administration in Hungary was the changing of the geographical structure of deconcentrated state administrative organisations. The study, on the one hand, provides a brief overview of the history of deconcentrated state administrative organisations in Hungary, and discusses the regional characteristics of the organisational transformations after the political changes, taking six moments in time (the middle of 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2012 respectively) as the basis. On the other hand, using the same six snapshots in time, it examines which settlements experienced favourable or unfavourable changes, and what factors influenced the selection of the seats for these institutions. The results of the survey indicated that the alignment of territorial structure of deconcentrated state administrative organizations to the planning-statistical, NUTS 2 regions has already begun at the end of the 1990s. The government formed in 2006 took significant steps in the area of aligning the spatial structure of the organizations with the planning-statistical regions; however, in the period after 2010 the significance of the county level increased again. In the period examined, no significant changes took place at the top and at the bottom of the list according to the number of seats: the largest settlements of the individual regions reinforced their leading positions.