Environment, public utilities

Environmental statistics covers data on natural resources (e.g. mineral resources, water resources), the load of the environment (e.g. air pollution, sewage treatment, waste management), environmental quality (quality of e.g. air, water or soil), nature protection (e.g. protected areas, protected species) and environmental protection (e.g. environmental investments, environmental expenditures, environmental taxes). It shows the state and the load of the environment, and quantifies efforts against the load of the environment. Public utilities statistics covers statistical data on public utilities (electricity, gas, purchased heat, drinking water, sewage, waste) in settlements.

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Forest area covered by conifers decreases

The extension of broad-leaved species was up by 2.0% (by 33 thousand hectares), while that of conifers was reduced by 13% (by 28 thousand hectares) between 2010 and 2019, so the stocked forest area as a whole (1.9 million hectares) rose by 5.6 thousand hectares by the end of 2019. Nine-tenths of forests were made up by broad-leaved and one-tenth by coniferous tree species. The growing stock of forests has grown in Hungary every year since the turn of the millennium, to equal 394 million m3 in 2019.

Red deer and fallow-deer stocks rise to decade-long records

The highest numbers of red deer and fallow-deer in Hungary – due to the growth in the past years – have been recorded for the spring of 2020 (at 119 thousand and 41 thousand, respectively) since the turn of the millennium. The numbers of roe-deer and mouflon slightly, while the number of wild-boars – by reason of the reduction of the stock, as ordered because of the African swine fever – significantly decreased. The stock of small game species diminished in a decade-long perspective, however, this negative trend turned in the last two years, the numbers of hares, pheasants and partridges all rose.

One day for tomorrow, one day for the Earth!

On 22 April, Earth Day celebrates its 50th anniversary. In 2018, protected areas of national importance accounted for 9.1% of the territory of Hungary, a total of 849 thousand hectares. Of this, the area of national parks, the most diverse nature reserves, represented 481 thousand hectares.