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Towards a new national sustainable development strategy – findings of in-depth interviews
39-46Views:105Hungary’s new national sustainable development strategy is expected to be drawn up by 2012 and social debate for discussion has already been under way. This document provides the basis of all other strategies, programs and plans. I prepared a survey by the method of structured in-depth interviews to explore the opinion of experts engaged in environmental issues and strategy development about sustainable development, the situation of the Hungarian strategy adopted in 2007 and applied indicators. The picture is highly diverse: there is a lack of unified viewpoint even about the concept of sustainability. However, the definition of a common, jointly adopted concept is the first stage in strategy development. Precisely formulated objectives and their related indicators are required for a strategy to fulfill its role – this is the theoretical part of strategic thinking.
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On the Knowledge of University Students About the Strategies of National Sustainable Development
232-240Views:88The definition of sustainable development has a past which spans two decades. Today it is evident that the three pillars of sustainable development – environment, economy and society – have a strong correspondence and equally effect on every people. The UN’s Environment and Development Conference in 1992 declared the requirement in the document of Objectives for the XXI. century, that governments should prepare national sustainable development strategies. The World Conference of Sustainable Development in August 2002 made a stronger decision: „the states should make immediate steps forward … defining and preparing their national sustainable development, and for the purpose to start its realization until 2005”. Most of the countries fulfilled these requirements, and the Hungarian government promises to prepare its national strategy by the end of 2004.
The aim of my study is to survey the knowledge of university students about the above mentioned process and generally about the topic of sustainable development. The selection of the target group is justified by the importance of young intelligentsia in the future. In order to examine their knowledge, I prepared a questionnaire and from the emerging primary data, my conclusion and statements have been deducted by a processing-analysing course, on the bases of which I made my suggestions. -
Conceptions regarding sustainable agriculture – the national sustainable development strategy
42-51Views:73The task of the national sustainable development strategy is to provide a long term conception for the economy and society, so that this might function and develop in harmony with the environment. Creating the conditions for sustainable agricultural production requires the elaboration and implementation of long-term programs spanning generations. The objective is to find a compromise between the conceptions appearing in the long-term and the short-term programs.
In Hungary, several principles, conceptions and proposals have been suggested regarding sustainable agriculture. In the present study, I intend to systematize the above mentioned principles and conceptions, and compare them to the conceptions regarding agriculture in the national strategies of the EU member states. Furthermore, I examine to what extent the agricultural policy of the European Union supports the conceptions regarding agriculture in the strategies. This topic deserves special attention, as the Hungarian national sustainable development strategy is being prepared and is supposed to be finished by the end of 2005. -
Agri-Environmental Issues in the National Sustainable Development Strategy of the Member States of the Enlarged EU
346-353Views:75In preparation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg), almost all EU member-states and some accession countries presented their national strategies for sustainable development (NSSD) during the summer of 2002. Along with other countries, Hungary is only now setting up this important document. Everywhere during the last decade, as in the EU countries, the intention was to involve the environmental problems into other political questions (agricultural, energy and transport policy, etc.). Today the strategy-builders have given up the sectoral view because of difficulties and setbacks, and use a view aiming the problem.
Agri-environmental issues appear as the elements of sustainability in the national strategies. For example, in accordance with the danger of global warming, the emission of green-house gasses of agriculture; in line with eco-efficiency, the production of renewable raw materials and energy sources originating from agriculture, and, in relation to changing lifestyle, food-safety and the future of biological agriculture will be disputed. With this study, I investigate the main characteristics of sustainable development strategies at both the EU level and at the level of the different member states from an agri-environmental point of view. -
Regional innovation: State of the art in the Észak-alföld region
139-143Views:81Innovation and innovation performance is gaining increasing importance in European policy, as the targets determined by the Lisbon priorities related to innovation seem to be still far away from the reality in some European countries and at EU level as well. Although the economic crisis determined the priorities of economic development and made it more complicated to dedicate more budget of Research and Development, one of the five ambitious objectives of the EU’s growth strategy for the coming decade: Europe 2020: A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth is still focusing on innovation. As the Lisbon Strategy determined the paths for national targets in the given areas, Europe 2020 will be adopted as well by the Member States.
In this context, the current work would like to give a short overview how Lisbon Strategy effected the national and regional innovation system in Hungary and will analyze its impact on Észak-Alföld’s region Research, Development and Innovation performance in the recent years and the transition of regional innovation governance system. -
Bioreactor in the service of sustainable development
111-118Views:126The control of our relationship with our environment is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. This has an effect on the economic and social processes and the human activities. All of these are included in a new developmental strategy: the strategy of sustainable development.
The strategy of sustainable development prevails by the new technologies and it is realized on high-tech level as the fermentation manipulation of organic materials, biogas production and production of “green” electric current.
One of Europe’s largest bioreactors has been established in Nyírbátor in Hungary at first (chief executive: Mihály Petis). -
Greenhouse gas emissions and Europe 2020 strategy
241-244Views:58Common Agricultural Policy has identified three priority areas for action to protect and enhance rural heritage: (i) the preservation and development of natural farming and traditional agricultural landscapes; (ii) water management and sustainable use and (iii) dealing with climate change. Measures of Rural Development Plan in EU countries promote the development of agricultural practices for preserving the environment and safeguarding the countryside. This is achieved by targeting rural development and promoting environmental friendly, sustainable practices, like agri-environment schemes. Farmers are encouraged to continue playing a positive role in the maintenance of the countryside and the environment. Changes in total emission between 1990
and 2007 do not show any correlation with the total GHG emission. GHG emission was reduced in Hungary, Slovakia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, Estonia and Bulgaria, where GHG efficiency is low. -
The role of SMEs in innovation-oriented economic development
95-99Views:123Both at European and national level tertiary and quaternary sectors are concentrated in the metropolitan centre. In the rural areas only the sites of such sectors can be found the premises of which temporarily transform the sectoral structure of these areas, but from the regional development aspect they did not prove to be an effective strategy.
The European Commission is now focusing on growth from innovation, which could become the driving force behind productivity growth and the economy’s long-term trend. The innovation-oriented economic development’s key players are on the one hand the knowledge-intensive enterprises, on the other hand the universities. Tertiary education can play a role – among others – in shaping and creating the development of knowledge intensive business environment and conditions, on the other hand it can assist the development of network contacts – another precondition of employment growth. -
Cohesion and competitiveness of the European Union at strategic level
29-33Views:98After the relaunchment of the Lisbon strategy, the cohesion policy of the EU concentrates even stronger on the establishment of the knowledge based economy, on R&D activities and innovations. In the first chapter I demonstrate the funds division of the convergence and regional competitiveness targets in the financial perspective between 2007–2013. The first sheet shows unambiguously that the new member states from Middle-Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean countries spend their funds on convergence and cohesion issues. The situation is contrary in the highly developed Western-European countries, in the core regions, where decisive part of the funds are spent on competitiveness issues. In the second chapter of the study I present the Europe 2020 strategy of the EU, that is a crucial paradigm change in the European strategy-making. While the Lisbon strategy focused on the social cohesion of the European Union, the Europe 2020 strategy strives the fostering of the European competitiveness. In the third part of the study I make a comparison how the funds-allocation altered during the two financial perspectives.
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Rural tourism in Hungarian development strategies
194-203Views:159Rural tourism was a popular sector of tourism development in the last few years. The importance of this sector means that it can be developed on its own or together with other tourist sectors.
The future of rural tourism depends on the supports of the national plans and strategies and the sales systems to keep on the market. In this study, I analyze how the Hungarian National Tourism Development Strategy deals with rural tourism and sustainable tourism. I also analyze how the big Hungarian travel agencies’ sales help rural tourism to advertise lodgings, and raise the number of sales. For the future, I analyze the opportunity of using travel agencies to sell rural tourism products. -
The Target Areas of Regional Development, Tool and Institutional Background, its Present and Future Prospects
138-142Views:65Regional politics determines the aims of regional structures, and the tools with the institutional background on the whole necessary achieve these. Realizing the aims of regional politics is a precondition of executing the basic principles of regional development and politics. The regional institutional system for handling the decentralized financial resources has not evolved in Hungary yet. The professional institutes for preparing the programs have not been set up, and the management of execution is slowly taking shape. There are still deficiencies in the domestic application of concentration and addition principles. A number of funds are provided on a national level, that are directly or indirectly aimed at regional development. The obvious coordination among the funds is not carried out neither on a national, nor on a regional level, partly to avoid parallel consumption aims. The future of Hungarian spatial structure depends on the type of decentralization strategy the country will follow for the new resources after the accession. Total decentralization offers the most efficient solution for Hungary.
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Additional information for the interpretation of the practice of rural development in the light of the corporate relations of the Agricultural Centre, University of Debrecen in the North-Great Plain Region
65-69Views:60In the spirit of the Lisbon strategy, the European Union has set out the primary aims of innovation development and competitiveness. A potential method to reach these aims is to enhance the relation between science and practice and to apply scientific results. This is the case at the Agricultural Centre of the University of Debrecen as well, since the tighter and looser cooperations of the institution provide a scientific structure, which is now a significant prerequisite for Hungarian agro-innovation, primarily for rural development processes in the North Great Plain Region. The present study, based mostly on empirical findings, strives to analyze the field of activities in relation to rural development performed by the Agricultural Centre, University of Debrecen.
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The ain impacts of the Lisbon Strategy on tobacco growing
80-87Views:65The Lisbon Strategy of the EU promises a more competitive Europe with more and better workplaces, in addition to sustainability.
Tobacco production is one of the most controversial industries of the agricultural sphere in the European Union. This crop is a „leader” of the world’s economic growth, a promoter of globalisation and has been an economic channel between America and Europe for more than 500 years. It is also a motor of technical development, due to its inducing effect on profitability and work efficiency. The tax competition of the states and the increase in consumption have become such a self-inducing system in which the increase of production created an increasing number of jobs, especially in tobacco growing, where the replacement of manual labour was much slower than the increase of the demand for raw material. The fact that smoking is becoming general should be handled as a social demand, though its health risks cannot be denied. However, the extreme objection to smoking cannot be accepted, especially not when it evokes social strains and concludes that people smoke because of tobacco production, al though the real situation is the opposite: People smoke in Europe, so the tobacco should be grown here, as is in our economic interest.
There is a contradiction between the strategic objectives and the roles of the industry which should be ceased urgently. Al thong aim is the creation of jobs, stopping tobacco growing could result in unexpected agro-social disadvantages. Rejection of the industry’s sustainability questions the realization of the keystones of the strategy. Competitiveness, sustainability and social cohesion should be implemented as a unit of the strategy also in tobacco growing. -
Integrated development strategy of the catchment area of the Tisza river
31-36Views:181The main challenge for mankind has always been to eliminate the borders of its living space, as well as to explore and discover its new faces. Contemporary literature strengthens this postulate. It is the preference of the experts of various fields in spatial analysis is to consider space to be repairable, changeable and organisable. In accordance with this axiom, the five affected countries in the catchment area of the Tisza river (Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Slovakia and Serbia) worked out an integrated, mutual standpoint to support the problems of the catchment area and to exploit its opportunities with the aim to support transnational cooperation. They laid great emphasis on the existing resources which could become the driving force behind regional development directions. This study contains the summarised outcomes of the TICAD project (SEE/A 638/4.2./X) which was drawn up as a result of cooperation between renowned institutions of the five affected countries within the South East Europe Transnational Cooperation Programme (lead partner: VÁTI, Hungary).
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Inhibitive factors of the Local Agenda process in Hungary
151-157Views:66The concept of sustainable development is one of the most fashionable concepts in the world nowadays, but Hungary – 15 years after the Rio conference – is still far behind the times: it is the only country in the EU 25 that has not prepared a national sustainable development strategy.
The situation is not encouraging in the field of local sustainability either. Although there are initiatives that can be described as ones that were prepared in the spirit of local sustainable development, no municipalities have working, formulated sustainability strategies.
One of the most important messages of sustainability is that the consultative process between the local government and the community can have far reaching consequences, which can influence the municipality’s life for a long time. In my paper, I explore the inhibitive factors bearing this duality in mind, as the lack of top-down initiatives together with the low number and the low support of bottom-up approaches have led to this image which is not too flattering for Hungary. I also aim to show, through the example of other countries, how these inhibitive factors can be reduced. -
The structure of tertiary education, training and research potential influencing factors
49-53Views:129Nowadays more and more pronounced demand for tertiary education appears as an output of the labor market and the real labor market needs coordination of intention. A necessary condition for the long-term sector strategies, conscious coordination. In Hungary – the sector management level – headed tertiary education training structure and the transformation of the institutional network. There is a close relationship between training supply and research and development potential, as an institution typically the same disciplinary education and research base continues. Based on this, we assume that the structure of the training may influence the development of the restructuring of the research and development potential as well. The institutional network reorganization (merger, liquidation, establishment of new institutions) is expected to result in a former spatial structure of tertiary education in the modification, which in itself is a training and research supply spatial rearrangement may apply. Against this background, questions have been raised as to how the objectives in the current tertiary education strategy for economic operators serving the needs of each territorial unit, how the institution fits into network transformation of economic structure and labor market needs of the regions.
In order for the Hungarian tertiary education can meet the requirement for industry standards, an essential part of the structure of industries, and the changes occurring in the economic structure, trends and industry relations in the investigation. On the other hand, we do not ignore those factors are not, which have a determining influence on the tertiary education institutions in training and R&D supply. As part of this study in tertiary education institutions will be examined possible factors influencing education, research and development demand and supply, which gets a prominent role in the economic structure of relations between the territorial dimension in the evolution of discount factors and the nature of particular sectors.
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Food Safety in EU Higher Education
188-197Views:75Under the aegis of the Lisbon Strategy, special attention is paid to education and areas left untouched by the European integration process. Human capital and research inputs were identified as major driving forces for long-term development. The European Union is keen on meeting its target of boosting research spending to 3% of GDP by 2010. In order to contribute towards his goal, the European Commission has set aside an amount
which is double the budget of the 7th Framework Programme. Accordingly, preferences were given to research and development projects encouraging competitiveness in the food industry and other initiatives, such as the European Technology Platforms. Major obstacles to innovation in Hungary are: lack of funds, weakness of research network, poor structural relations. Better utilization of our comparative advantages should be targeted in order to have the Hungarian food industry become a driving force sector. This is to be promoted by the newly transformed food
engineer training (as a result of the Bologna Declaration) which can adapt better to the changing requirements of the labour market. Food science and related research could become determining factors for the food economy by setting up accredited training systems and enhancing food safety education and training in Hungary. -
Renewable energy strategy in Hungary
101-104Views:132The price of energy determinates our daily life. It is very necessary that we make energy strategy such as effective in everyday life, furthermore appoint a predictable development path. In these energy strategies the renewable energy and the energy efficiency is highlighted. This article describes about relevant pledges from recent years and possible improvements.
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Periphery formation and economic-social conflict
87-90Views:109The timeliness, significance and importance of the study is sensitively shown by the fact that a large part of the Tisza region is slowly being moved to the periphery in the slowly modernising and changing economic and settlement spatial structure of the Great Plain. This situation is also deepened by the fact that the social and economic backlog increases in the majority of the region, as one third of the 33 most disadvantaged small regions in Hungary can be found here. This study basically contributes to the establishment of the development of the Tisza river’s spatial environment and the development of new solutions.
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Development alternatives of rural economy
187-191Views:100Environmental, natural, social and economic processes undergoing both in Europe and in the world predict such a 21st century that is characterised by increasing resource-crisis from both economic and ecological aspects. Therefore, it is very important for Hungary to see what happens to its natural resources, epecially to its agricultural land, water reserves as well as the biodiversity of the local unique flora and fauna. One of the most significant issues of the rural areas of Hungary is whether we can preserve the natural habitats and the various biodiversity of the related species, the favourable biological background of agriculture. In addition, whether we are able to provide high quality food for the country as well as for the broader reagion, whether we are able to produce energy from the resources available as well as to provide sufficient opportunities for the population to live and work. These can be considered as the most significant issuesof the coming decades which determine the strategy of the Hungarian rural economies in long term.
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Procurement as enterprise function at vegetable and fruit processing companies
228-235Views:62The first main element of the supply chain is procurement; which has a great influence on the quality of products and services. The most important role of the procurement is the purchase of inputs which are necessary for the operation of companies. This includes procurement planning and the development of procurement strategy, so procurement is a process that is even more than simply buying raw materials. The functions of procurement are the selection of suitable suppliers, contracting, controlling and improvement of suppliers, and coordination of activities with other parts of the company.
Planning of procurement, strategy formulation, supplier selection and evaluation, monitoring of the procurement process, and modification of original plan are important tasks of entrepreneurial procurement. The importance of procurement in a business organization is reflected by its position in the hierarchy of the firm. There are subjective and objective methods to select suppliers accomplishing their tasks on time and with good quality. Efficient purchasing management activity contributes to an increased competitiveness of the enterprise. The aim of this publication is to describe the procurement activities, to examine supplier selection and evaluation methods, to determine the position of procurement in the organization, and to prove the strategic importance of procurement. -
Need for measurement of the innovation at Hungarian SMEs
5-13Views:135Competitiveness studies have shown that innovation could be breakout point for some economies, regions and enterprises. Knowledge acquisition, creation and exploitation of the knowledge base have been an essential element for economic growth. These knowledge-based economic processes come together with the innovation. Measurement of innovation by indicators has been playing a really emphatic role in making strategy whether it is national or EU planning.
Enterprises have always tried to measure and quantify their innovation activities mostly through the results of their economic process. Companies have generally considered their products as part of the innovation. That was the reason that in most cases they only and exclusively focused on the finished product. Some of them was able to realize that details of the production process must be taken into account in order to the whole innovation activity could be measured.
That is why I find it important to examine of what the innovativity of enterprises is made of, and in which way they can be measured.
In addition I was looking for the answer to the questions that how much the measuring method allows you to compare enterprises for further examination.The development of measurement methods is an essential moment of the article. As it is compiled for me the most important aspect of innovation, according to the statistical document, the Oslo manual guides you through the measurement methods and operational processes They play a very important role in proving my hypothesis. Overall, our country’s innovation results show those areas where we have high endowments, and also those where are the weaknesses.
Of course, systems and tools defined by the governing authorities of national economies will have the main role but the activity of the European Union will be the frame in the end, because without subsidies from the EU budget, national budget wouldn’t be enough to implement these aims.
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Open Method of Coordination in the European research policy
182-187Views:69Research, development and innovation (R+D) are of great importance nowadays as regards the competetiveness and economic growth of any given country. In the European Union the Lisbon Strategy considers R+D as a crutial means to enhance european competetiveness. The EU is substansially lagging behind its main competitors (USA, Japan) in this domain, furthermore developing countries (China, India) have recently been making
great progress, thus posing additional challanges to our continent. The EU needs to assess the present situation as soon as possible and meet the latest challenges in the most efficient way. In order to achieve this objective, the concept of the European Research Area (ERA) has been elaborated with the aim of reorganising, regrouping and integrating existing structures. The open method of coordination (OMC) is playing an important role in the implementation of this common area. It constitutes an alternative policy-making merthod to pure „intergovernmentalism” and the
„community method”. The OMC in the field of research policy is coordinated by the Scientific and Research Committe (CREST), which provides a forum for member states to share their experience and reach their common goals. -
Impact of the integration of lupine (Lupinus albus) into crop rotation on the extent of soil compaction in the Westsik longterm field trial
529-537Views:89In order to reduce or eliminate soil compaction, rational crop rotation and appropriate sequence of crops have an increasingly important role in addition to mechanical and tillage solutions. In this respect, introduction of greening in recent years has been a major step, which focuses on aspects of environmentally conscious, soil conserving farming and the improvement of biodiversity. The cornerstone of this strategy is the cultivation of crops that have a beneficial effect on soil properties, such as the use of nitrogen-fixing plants and green manure plants in the cultivation system that have a beneficial effect on soil structure. In our examinations, penetrometer measurements were carried out in the second longest crop rotation-based field experiment in Europe in order to quantify the effects of green crops and crop rotation strategies on soil resistance. Our aim was to evaluate and compare the impact of lupine (Lupinus albus) on the penetration resistance of soil on sour sandy soils. At the time of the penetration resistance measurement, different crop rotations had a significant effect on the development of the parameter in the examined soil layer. The most favourable penetration resistance values were found in the crop rotation, which included lupine as a green manure. The favourable effect is dominant below the cultivated layer (0–40 cm), which is statistically verified. The values of penetration resistance of the cultivated soil layer of lupine sown as primary green manure did not differ significantly from the values measured in the case of the fallowing-based crop rotation. Therefore, the use of lupine green manure instead of fallowing could be worth considering by practical application due to its favourable effects on soil penetration resistance. The use of lupine green manure after the production of rye cultivation resulted in penetration parameters similar to fallowing, irrespective of the green crop and the applied amount of nitrogen fertilizer, which justifies the cultivation of the crop as green manure. In the case of potato cultivating, recorded compaction within the cultivated layer is an obvious consequence of mechanical compaction during harvest; therefore, machinery operations are decisive for the development of penetration resistance values of the cultivated layer. In addition to the beneficial effect of lupine as a green manure crop on soil condition, its nitrogen-fixing ability is also important; it stresses the utilisation of the crop of sour sandy soils for the sake of proper soil management.
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Economic policy strategy of UNITAB
83-90Views:71Under the leadership of the International Association of Tobacco Producers – UNITAB – there is a struggle going on for stabilizing the situation of European tobacco growers. UNITAB unites the tobacco associations and tobacco growers of all EU countries.
Tobacco production ensures economic stability for more than 100 thousand small- and medium-sized farms in the rural areas of 10 EU countries. In addition, its social importance in the survival of rural communities is emphasized by the 400 thousand direct or related seasonal jobs.
Within the framework of the CAP reform, the European Union is gradually changing the regulations of production. This is based on the decoupling of subsidies, which will be implemented in two phases. Between 2006 and 2009. the decoupling will be 40% and then after 2010, 50% (the other 50% will be used for restructuring within the second pillar). The question is raised, how will the second 50% be restructured to the second pillar. Between regions and how it can be ensured that this support would go to tobacco production.
With its participation in the principles of the European Tobacco Charta, UNITAB targets for production under economically-balanced conditions, the production of products meeting the customer requirements, consideration of the working conditions (especially for seasonal workers) and adherence to the health regulations related to the consumption of the end product already in the production and environmental protection. They aim to ensure the survival of the sector via tobacco growing with sustainable development and high quality. To maintain the continuity, there is a need for the support of regional, national and EU authorities. Future of the sector is dependent upon adaptation of tobacco growers and upon meeting the social expectations.
According to UNITAB, efforts should be made to modify the decisions so that the majority of the funding could be used by the grower. The tobacco industry has been able to effectively fight for its survival.