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Good practice Imported

Hungary Natura 2000 Grassland Compensation Scheme

Hungary · Budapest · See the Hungary profile · See the Budapest profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 81% 33/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Hungary pays ~€115/ha/yr (Decree 269/2007, updated under CAP 2023–27) for Natura 2000 grassland maintenance. 250,000 ha enrolled; 7,500+ farmers paid; €19M disbursed in 2025. Covers iconic Pannonian steppe (puszta) and high-nature-value wet meadows.

38 €/ha/yr
Payment rate (2007 decree) (2007)
115 €/ha/yr
Payment rate (CAP 2023-2027) (2023-2027)
250,000 ha
Grassland area enrolled (2014-2022)
15,000 farmers
Farmers enrolled (2014-2022)
19 € million (7.7 billion HUF)
Payments disbursed (early 2025)
7,500+ farmers
Farmers paid (early 2025)

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture (Agrárminisztérium)
Period
2007–present
Region (NUTS)
HU11
Keywords
agriculture, nature conservation, EU rural development, national government

Context

Hungary's Natura 2000 grassland compensation scheme, established under Ministerial Decree 269/2007, pays farmers annually to maintain land management compatible with EU Habitats Directive requirements on Pannonian steppe (puszta) and wet-meadow habitats, including Hortobágy, Kiskunság, Körös-Maros and Fertő-Hanság.

Results

Payment rates rose from about €38/ha/yr under the 2007 decree to about €115/ha/yr under the CAP 2023-2027 Hungarian Strategic Plan. Around 250,000 ha and 15,000 farmers were enrolled during the 2014-2022 Rural Development Programme, and in early 2025 the Ministry of Agriculture paid 7.7 billion HUF (about €19 million) to over 7,500 farmers.

Conclusions

The scheme compensates for land-use restrictions rather than purchasing measured ecological improvements, and no published independent evaluation has attributed biodiversity outcomes specifically to the payments.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M) — Annual national disbursement of roughly €19 million (7.7 billion HUF) in 2025 to over 7,500 farmers, funded jointly by EAFRD and the Hungarian state budget.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Continuously operating since 2007-2008, across three CAP programming periods (2007-2013, 2014-2022, 2023-2027).
Staffing & skills
Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture (Agrárminisztérium) administers payments and enrolment

Conditions for success

  • Statutory basis in Ministerial Decree 269/2007 giving payments a stable legal foundation
  • Co-financing via the EU's European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) sustained across three CAP programming periods (2007-2027)

Common failure modes

  • Payment compensates for land-use restriction rather than directly purchasing or verifying ecological improvement
  • No published independent evaluation has demonstrated biodiversity outcomes specifically attributable to the scheme

Where it fits

Governance type
national government (ministerial decree + EU co-financed rural development programme)
Scale
national
Income level
high-income EU member state

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes LIFE Programme

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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