Summary of activities

The years of the political change raised some hidden, neglected environmental issues. This was also the case in XXII. district of Budapest in 1989 – Budafok-Tétény, the south-western part of the capitol –.

One basic task was the activity of the heavy metal processing plant – Metallochemia – with other conflicts, like the high mortality statistics of the district in connection with high number of cancer cases. We have raised the problems of the local industrial pollution sources, the issue of the M0 motorway construction, crossing the south part of the district and we have also picked up the package of the gas works’ dross landfills of the district.

The Green Future was founded in 1989 as local social environmental council, later in 1990 as green NGO, giving background to the activities dealing with the local environmental problems. The first years were characterised by the classical protest activities, forums, demonstrations, activating the local population. The first result was the shutting of the heavy metal plant in May 1990. The rehabilitation process has started and it has run with many obstacles. However in the last few years we have reached the rehabilitation of the formar plant site, and the residential area. The change of contaminated soil concerned about 1500 dwellings of the region and the plant rehabilitation referred to 700 thousand tons of heavy metal slag.

We have raised the attention to the two main nature preservation values of the district, the Háros island, and the Tétény plateau, proposing the nature protection. After long fight and conflicts, we have reached the protection on national level of the Háros island in 1993 and later in 1999 on local, municipal level at the Tétény plateau and also the small Háros island. We have been dealing in the recent years with the bio-monitoring and habitat reconstruction of the plateau. We have started a small education and research house near the protected areas and have regular programs on the field – tours, wanderings, removal of rubbish, etc. –.

Beside those, we have regular environmental education programs, forums, meetings on specific subjects and we have elaborated a local waste management strategy for the selective approach of waste management and recycling.

Connection and co-operation opportunities on the field of nature preservation, habitat rehabilitation, environmental education and waste management issues, on regional approach.

Contact: zoldjovo@zoldjovo.hu