Expert cautions against reed removal on Lake Balaton

Land

The Balaton Alliance, a partnership of local councils that seeks to harmonize interests in the region around Lake Balaton, heard a stern warning from a hydrobiologist on the removal of reeds at a meeting in Balatonfenyves on Wednesday, state news wire MTI reports.

Piroska Pomogyi, who has gauged the shoreline reed area around Lake Balaton for decades, said 7.5 hectares of reeds have been removed based on aerial photographs taken last August, more than double the area four years earlier.

She stressed the importance of the 1,200 hectares of reed area around the lake has in preserving the quality of the water and the lakeʼs ecosystem.

"In the end, if there arenʼt any reeds, there wonʼt be any Balaton," she said.

Pomogyi said 36 piers and quays had been illegally constructed in reed areas in the past four years, adding to the 91 counted earlier.

She encouraged local councils to erect signs informing residents of the importance of reed as well as web cameras to prevent the illegal removal of reeds.

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Agriculture