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A realistic scenario is the sedimentation and waterlogging of Lake Balaton, says Ferenc Jordán, director of the Balaton Institute of Limnology at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, in an interview with Very Important Planet, who said there is no real cooperation, so that an ecological catastrophe could occur. In his words:
If all goes like this, the lake could even turn into a sleepy green bastard with pools instead of vineyards on the shore. However, many actors are involved in the study of Lake Balaton: universities, research institutes, water management. At the Balaton Institute of Limnology, Tihany, we also try to examine the life of the lake from as many perspectives as possible, according to our limited possibilities. The chemical composition of water, plankton, reeds, and fish are important to understanding how an ecosystem works, not just admiring it.
Unfortunately, a comprehensive knowledge of the complex ecosystem has not been developed, as our knowledge is still incomplete and the integration of acquired knowledge is weak. According to the director, the main problem is the lack of a comprehensive and environmentally conscious approach, in which decisions are made far from Lake Balaton and decided by the perspectives of decision-makers, investors and politicians, without taking into account mind the scientific aspects. Furthermore, it is difficult to calculate the behavior of an ecosystem. They manage change for a long time with no visible and significant changes, and then they can make drastic changes in a short time.
Ferenc Jordán compares environmentalists with meteorologists:
Being an ecologist is probably worse than being a meteorologist. […] We see that sometimes a local algae can develop in a matter of days and then disappear just as quickly. However, in a few years, the lake itself may show trend changes.[…] The felling and establishment of all green spaces (forests, fields, reeds) must be immediately prohibited. For an economist or a politician, of course, this sounds like a utopia, but if we want to live in a meaningful world, we must change it. Not a little detail or two, but our thinking, our value judgment, the System, in capital letters. Today, there is no serious obstacle for someone to act despite national or international conventions and laws.
It was said in the conversation that it is no longer the fertilizer but the fishing lure that loads the phosphorous water. You can also read conflicting information and opinions, for example, on the usefulness of sludge dredging. According to the director, it should be investigated and not guessed. Based on their institute measurements, they can tell in October what the effect of the dredging was, for example in August 2020 in Györök. Regarding Kis-Balaton, Ferenc Jordán mentions that they have little data on the processes that take place in it, but the filtration and sedimentation systems developed in the eighties and nineties can work correctly, because the proportion of pollutants that enter the lake from that direction is stably low.
To the question about biological equilibrium, he answered the following:
The busa, as a fairly aggressive spreading newcomer, would certainly not be missed by anyone, but for healthy lake life, we shouldn’t be talking about species, but about a working system. If there is enough food, spawning grounds, and other necessities of life, consumers and top predators can wonderfully build a stable food web, even with invasive species. The point is not to have constant interruptions, to have time to work, to touch the system. If the appearance of invasive species, pollution, disturbances is continuous, a properly functioning lake ecosystem cannot be established. Many living beings also find their place in the shadow of man when they have time to adapt. Others are expelled from us and disappear, become extinct or are pushed into the real desert. Which is less and less.
In his interview last year, the researcher who predicted the start of the Covid-19 epidemic highlighted that despite the low population density compared to Budapest or Mexico City, he recommends that everyone follow epidemiological regulations even near the lake. Balaton.
(Cover image: Beaches on Alsóörs beach on August 13, 2020. Photo: Zoltán Balogh / MTI)
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