The Hungarian People's Republic

Provides a geographical, economic and historical background to environmental policy and legislation in Hungary, and describes how by the end of the 1970s a uniform nationwide system of environmental protection was completed. The administrative system falls into a general management subsystem, covering the principles of environmental protection, and an interconnected management subsystem of special topics. The environmental decision-making process involves political and governmental decisions by the State, implementation of national economic plans, legal and economic procedures, and programmes of environmental education, together with a host of local government decisions. Policy implementation is examined in the contexts of land and soil, water pollution, air pollution, hazardous waste, noise, and nature conservation. Constraints and conflicts within a socialist society are noted, in particular the economic recovery of the 1980s versus environmental protection. -P.J.Jarvis