Investigating Stakeholder Decision Priorities for Adapting to Climate Change in the Lake Balaton Recreational Area of Hungary

The report details the results of four workshops held between October 2007 and February 2008 in Siófok, Keszthely, and Balatonalmádi, Hungary. Stakeholders identified significant weather shifts, including summer peak temperatures reaching the +40˚C range and increased extreme rainfall events, which impact agriculture, tourism, and human health. Current adaptation is largely ad hoc and driven by economic loss, but participants proposed a range of future 'win-win' strategies. These include diversifying tourism to be less weather-dependent, reintroducing traditional building materials like reed, and implementing rainwater storage in viticulture. The report emphasizes that successful long-term resilience requires shifting from individual initiatives to collaborative regional planning and updating building codes and legislation to support sustainable practices.

• Stakeholders observed significant shifts in local weather patterns that exceed normal variability, most notably summer peak temperatures reaching the +40˚C range, which limits outdoor activities and threatens agricultural productivity and tourism attractiveness.
• Changes in precipitation patterns, characterized by fewer rainy days in summer but more extreme rainfall events, have led to increased erosion, sewage system overflows, and water shortages for agriculture.
• Current adaptation measures in the region are primarily reactive and triggered by economic losses, with stakeholders generally unwilling to implement options that do not provide a foreseeable return on investment.
• In the agricultural sector, specifically viticulture, stakeholders have implemented or proposed adaptation strategies such as rainwater storage, the use of drought-tolerant species, and adjusting work schedules to avoid mid-day heat stress.
• There is strong stakeholder interest in reintroducing traditional building materials, such as reed, and improving insulation to manage temperatures, but current building codes and legislation act as institutional hurdles.
• To adapt the tourism industry, stakeholders recommend diversifying attractions to be weather-independent, shifting toward family-oriented and eco-tourism, and expanding services to background communities inland from the lake.
• The region experiences 'double exposure,' where the impacts of climate change combine with stresses from economic globalization and a problematic socio-economic transition from a centrally planned economy, increasing the vulnerability of local institutions.

APA

Bizikova, L., & Pintér, L. (2009). Investigating Stakeholder Decision Priorities for Adapting to Climate Change in the Lake Balaton Recreational Area of Hungary. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/investigating_stakeholder_decision_balaton.pdf

Chicago

Bizikova, Livia, and László Pintér. Investigating Stakeholder Decision Priorities for Adapting to Climate Change in the Lake Balaton Recreational Area of Hungary. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2009. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/investigating_stakeholder_decision_balaton.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bizikova |first1=Livia |last2=Pintér |first2=László |title=Investigating Stakeholder Decision Priorities for Adapting to Climate Change in the Lake Balaton Recreational Area of Hungary |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=April 2009 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/investigating_stakeholder_decision_balaton.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bizikova2009investigating, author = {Bizikova, Livia and Pintér, László}, title = {{Investigating Stakeholder Decision Priorities for Adapting to Climate Change in the Lake Balaton Recreational Area of Hungary}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2009}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/investigating_stakeholder_decision_balaton.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }