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Environment protection and its reflection in the environmental consciousness of the inhabitants in a middle-sized town (Vác, Hungary)
83-94Views:55Abstract The paper presents the role of urban environmental protection in sustainable development while analysing the factors influencing the environmental consciousness of the inhabitants of a middle-sized town based on a general model, together with the role of environmental consciousness in solving environmental protection problems at settlement level. My particular research focused on characterising the environmental state of Vác, with a population of 35000 people, and on the knowledge and environmental consciousness of the inhabitants. In the course of the representative questionnaire survey, 439 people gave assessable answers. Questions were related to the most significant environmental problems (air pollution, water contamination, sewage treatment, waste management). Answers were compared to the real situation based on measurements. Results revealed that the knowledge of the inhabitants on local environmental problems is better than the national average. In certain relations (water contamination, sewage treatment), however, it is deficient, thus information transfer was studied separately as well. It can be stated that local governments should make greater efforts in order to inform inhabitants. Environmental attitude of the inhabitants can be regarded as good. Based on the general model, I analysed the tasks of the settlement to improve environmental consciousness in order to increase efficiency of urban environmental protection.
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1:10000 scale mapping with GPS and free GIS tools - comparison with topographic map
11-21Views:42Reliability of the road system illustrated on topographic maps with 1:10000 scale is questionable due to their age, but surveying a territory with area over 100 hectares is expensive with classical geodetic tools, although there is no need of geodetic accuracy in most cases. GPS-based mapping method described in this paper is suitable in these situations. The main concept is to keep the costs of the survey as low as possible, therefore free GIS applications and databases were used with navigation purpose GPS receivers. The accuracy provided by these devices is good enough for those purposes where the accuracy of topographic map with 1:10000 scale is adequate. GPS-based mapping can be done to update the road system of existing map or create own detailed road databases. The result of the work is not just a database but a navigation capable digital map, which can aid further activities on the field, like geographic researches, environment protection, tourism, fire service etc.
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Protected areas in regions of intensive economical activity: conflict of nature protection and nature use (case study of Dovine river catchment)
43-56Views:62Nature protection and economical activity clash of interests is analysed on the example of Dovinė River catchment, situated in the south western part of Lithuania. It is a unique wetland complex consisting from Žuvintas Lake and the surrounding bogs (Fig. 1). Žuvintas Lake became the first protected area in Lithuania in 1937. However, the lake is situated in one of the most fertile region of Lithuania, where the methods of intensive farming activity is being employed for a long time. Eutrophication processes and overgrowth of this shallow lake has been very active during the several decades and the lake has lost its ecological value. Therefore the main goal of this article is to analyse the anthropogenic influence towards the water bodies and protected natural values situated in the territory of intensive economical activity. Cartographical material of different periods is being used for the evaluation of the hydrographical network transformations in Dovinė River catchment. Hydrochemical parameters of the periods 1953–1954, 1960–1961, 1980–1982; 1993–2003; 2004–2005 of the water bodies in Dovinė River catchment are being analysed. The field works in order to investigate the water quality in Dovinė River and it‘s tributaries were made in spring of 2005. Water samples were analysed in laboratory of the Institute of Geology and Geography according water quality analysis methods approved by Lithuanian Ministry of Environment (Table 2). Water quality was evaluated according maximum residue limits (MRL) in surface waters (Table 3). The results of the study showed that although Žuvintas Lake is being protected for 70 years, the farming activity intensified constantly in its catchment. Canalised river beds and sluice–regulated hydrological regime of the lakes diminished the natural self–cleaning abilities of the water system. The average annual decrease of the lake specular surface was about 1,1 ha in the period of 1961–2003. The average annual increase of vegetation area is about 0,14 ha. Even a strong protection regime did not preserve this territory. Therefore, in order to keep the sustainable development in the protected territories the anthropogenic loading from the neighbouring territories (catchment area, etc) must be evaluated. The objectives of nature protection in protected territory could not be attained if there is no regulation of economical activity in the territories surrounding the protected area.
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The scenic value of abandoned mining areas in Poland
132-142Views:31Abandoned Polish mining areas are commonly heavily transformed so that they endanger no longer the environment. A disadvantage is that the newly created areas commonly contribute to the monotonous urban-industrial landscape, rather than providing additional value. This is partly due to legislation that hampers a more diversified management of abandoned mining areas as potentially valuable landforms. One of the legal barriers that restricts the possibilities of making these areas more attractive, regards the utilization of remaining exploitation holes (i.e. land depressions of at least 2 m deep, formed as a result of open-pit mining of energy, chemical, building or metallurgical resources) and waste heaps as important cultural and scenic elements. Such a new use of these old mininginduced phenomena is important if it is intended not only to involve the regional population in the process of exploring and exploiting the earth’s resources, but also to confront them with some negative consequences of these activities, including shaping the landscape in which these objects are situated. The current attitude towards a new architecture for abandoned mining areas should be reconsidered; particularly the present-day approach based on narrow specializations – for instance of experts in mineral exploitation, spatial planning or environmental protection – should be replaced by interdisciplinary action regarding shaping the landscape of abandoned mining areas.
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Boundless settlements – tendencies and future of urban sprawl in the agglomeration of Budapest
75-88Views:186The Budapest agglomeration is a rapidly changing environment. Urban sprawl has been a prominent process in municipalities around the Hungarian capital, and its pace has significantly increased since the change of regimes. In our paper, we analyse the tendencies of urban development, the role of territorial protection and the types of land use mostly threatened by urban sprawl in two study areas within the Budapest agglomeration. A significant part of the Northern study area – located on Szentendre Island – is under territorial protection, while the Southern study area – located on Csepel Island – has a considerably lower amount of protected areas. We found that the settlements of the Northern study area have been expanding at a much slower pace than their Southern counterparts, where in the absence of effective restrictions, extensive areas – mostly former agricultural fields – have been converted into built-up areas. In addition, the Spatial Plan of the agglomeration allows the same tendencies to continue in both areas in the future as well.
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Possible reduction of environmental impacts of geothermal energy extraction in a theoritical spa
68-75Views:62Sustainable thermal water production involves the protection of the used reservoirs, as well as the minimizing of the environmental impact (caused by heat, gas and dissolved solid). Four water extraction models are discussed in which the water and heat demand of the theoretical spa are supplied using different sources. The most environmental friendly variation contains three wells with different depths of screening. In this case the dissolved gas and solid content became the lowest, as well as the radius of influence based on drawdown calculations. Beyond the environmental impact the owner have to consider other economic aspects, such as the number of wells, the possibility of independence from gas services, which force the owner to choose not the most environment friendly way. Optimizing the various factors, thermal water extraction for medical and wellness purposes could be feasible and appropriate for sustainable operation.