The determination process of nature conservation values, its past, present and future

Abstract

Many factors are influencing the extinction of species. Besides the competition between the species and natural selection, more significant factors can be mentioned, like adverse effects of people’s activity, increasing environmental pollution, the destruction of habitats, tourism, and the people’s collection passion, which all contribute to the loss of biodiversity. It is impossible to choose a species and exchange that for money because their role in the biological cycle does not allow this. However, it is still necessary to endow them with nature conservation values. As a result of this investigation, it has been turned out that there is no available elaborated uniform methodology determining the goodwill value of species neither in Hungary nor in the European Union. These values have been determined based on expert reports. The nature conversation values of some species can be found in the Annexes of the Hungarian Regulation 13/2001. (V. 9.) KöM, which is currently in force in Hungary. The nearly 2100 species have been classified into cost categories based on the aspects like the evolution of the number of individuals, the global or local rarity, the level of to be endangered, the condition of habitats, the recognisability, and attractiveness. The actuality of the topic is given, as the legislation has been revised three times in the last four decades (12/1993. (III. 31.) KTM decree, 13/2001. (V. 9.) KöM decree, 100/2012. (IX. 28.) VM decree) and the next broad revision of the Regulation is expected to be in the near future. The task of the Nature Conservation Services of the National Parks is preservation the protected species of plants, animals, and mushrooms and to save them from damage, but the lack of capacity within the services (approximately 250 persons to the whole area of Hungary) makes it challenging to check and to measure on-site.