An environmental conflict in Hungary: bauxite or medicinal water?

Abstract

The economic expansion under the socialist regime led to environmental crises in some regions of Hungary. The technology of bauxite mining in the Transdanubian Mountains is a typical example for a prominent activity causing far-reaching environmental impacts and attracting great attention. The lasting deleterious effects of mining are manifested in water and related physical processes and in regional management. Environmental degradation began with the introduction of active de-watering technology in the exploitation of bauxite and coal in the early 1960s. The applied technology caused an average 30 m dropping of karst-water level over an area of 3,000 km². It reached its lowest level (110 m) in the major mining region in the western portion, at Nyirád. Many wells and springs of the region dried out, including the most abundant Hungarian spring at Tap0lcafö. The world famous and unique spa, Hévíz, with incomparable balneological medical, recreational and infrastructural value, situated only 6 km from the southwestern basin of Lake Balaton, was also affected. Due to academic argumentation and pressure from local authorities, the government decided to close down the deep bauxite mine at Nyirád. This measure was followed by a slow rising of the karstwater table, also in the Hévíz spa region. As there has been no recultivation, however, the pits and caverns resulting from mining can still be seen, In the paper the landforms related to mining are presented and micro-scale changes in land use are detected in the environs of Nyirád.