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The Hungary Policy Lab brings together stakeholders including local decision-makers, farmers, national parks and policy makers. It has been established with the cooperation of ESSRG and WWF Hungary.
Our ambition is that by bringing these stakeholders together, we can jointly develop and promote regenerative agriculture and water retention policies that help to overcome water loss and other challenges facing the region.
The Policy Lab examines the opportunities of water retention and adaptation to climate change in the Sand Ridge within the Danube-Tisza interfluve in central Hungary.
The area we are focusing on is elevated and arid. It sits within the catchment area of the artificially formed Donger drainage channel. It is a mixed landscape with arable lands, forests, pastures, ponds, saline wetlands, fen meadows and sand dunes.
Water loss is currently leading to biodiversity loss and depopulation. Our goal is to better understand what actions can be taken to reduce this, and how local people and stakeholders can be encouraged to take these actions.
There are already positive actions taking place:
- Collaboration with farmers to find solutions.
- Knowledge sharing on nature-based solutions for water retention is increasing.
- No tillage methods that reduce soil erosion and evaporation are spreading.
But there are several ongoing land-transformations taking place that continue to worsen water loss and related issues:
- As wetlands dry, they transform into dry grasslands. As farms increase in scale, there is a loss of hedges and trees which previously reduced the impact of drought.
- Improper afforestation has occurred where natural grasslands and agricultural fields have been replaced with water intensive or invasive species.
- New solar power plants are impacting local nature and biodiversity.
A breakthrough in our engagement has been the "Photovoice" method, where land users took pictures of water management issues to spark deep discussion on regional transformation. In late 2025, we held a workshop where traditional smallholders, regenerative farmers, and conventional medium-scale farmers debated the "mind maps" of land-use drivers created by researchers. The Policy Lab has also been active in policy advocacy, participating in forums to formulate spatial planning strategies and maintaining a dialogue between civic partners and researchers.
The Policy Lab has also identified two important factors to consider when engaging stakeholders. First, stakeholders rarely use "climate change vocabulary" in workshops, preferring to focus on on-the-ground experiences. Second, the Policy Lab has identified a gender imbalance in decision-making spaces, which are dominated by middle-aged men, potentially meaning some voices or perspectives are not heard.
Drivers of Land Use Change
In this region, water shortage is the most critical driver that dictates farming decisions, from crop selection to long-term viability. Atmospheric drought, declining groundwater, and unpredictable spring frosts create a landscape of high vulnerability. Economic drivers are also key, with a significant shortage of capital preventing small and medium farms from investing in water-retention infrastructure. Socially, the region suffers from demographic ageing, a lack of cooperation, and the negative perception of large-scale farmers whose water-use practices are seen as wasteful and tied to global market incentives.
Next steps
The Policy Lab is focusing on local solutions for water retention, moving away from top-down extraction models toward farmer-led agency. The lab also has plans to organise policy-oriented meetings outside their primary case study area to broaden their impact. A key upcoming goal is to distribute a policy brief prepared by WWF Hungary to target national decision-makers and push for more flexible subsidy systems that allow farmers to adapt to semi-arid conditions.