FORESTS IN HUNGARY,    FORESTS IN EUROPE

Nature protection
The intensive protection of natural values in forests (plant and animal species, geological values) is enforced by declaring them protected and strictly protected. These are national parks (10), landscape protection areas, protected natural areas, and natural monuments. 9,6 % of the national territory is under legal protection. 

The history of the domestic nature conservation is in many threads related to forestry this is proved by the fact that the proportion of forests in the protected area is more than 50 %
Within protected natural areas forest reserves are a unique nature protection category, the primary purpose of which is the protection of natural or nature-like forest life communities and the research aimed at understanding natural processes.
Following the EU-accession the NATURA 2000 network had to be established in Hungary as well. The networks significant part is located on forestland.
Welfare effects, multiple environmental, nature protecting and recreation functions of forests are increasingly appreciated by society. Forest sector facilitates the prevalence of these functions by welfare forestry, which is made obligatory for forest managers by the Act on Forests.
Welfare forestry includes all forestry activities aiming the facilitation of socially useful services of forests, the beautifying of forests and the provision of a nice environment and opportunities for visitors to recreate.
The managing need for this special area emerged with the almost unbearable burden of visits that fall on forests in popular excursion places easily approachable from cities as a consequence of the increasing population.
The welfare services of forests are and will be granted free. This burdens both the forest owner and the state supporting public welfare developments, so it is well expected of visitors to preserve forest conditions for those visiting next.

Health stand
Recently we can hear a lot about the harmful effects of human actions and the deterioration of natural conditions on forests. The crucial danger for the stability of moderate-climate forests is said to be air pollution, from the Seventies of the last century, crossing nations and borders in its effects, and climate change, from the Ninties. Indeed, air pollution brought forth the destruction of forests in many European regions, yet in Hungary major forest damages directly related to air pollution has not been observed.
Hungary has been using a health status evaluation, so called monitoring system for long decades, which is considered extensive according to European standards. Data thus collected give a clear overview about the changes of forest conditions, by which protection against possible damaging agents may be planned in advance.