Local services
The programme was launched in 2019 in 10 municipalities, including Debrecen, and focuses on one of the most important environmental problems: improving air quality.
At the opening of this year’s event on the 28th of September 2023, Ákos Balázs, Deputy Mayor of Debrecen, welcomed the participants. “It’s a great programme, a great day to be here, which we in Debrecen love because we can discuss current issues with partner organisations”, he said at the beginning of his welcome speech. He added that there are many programmes taking place in the city and that the new environmental policy of the city, which is to develop the city sustainably, was announced at the beginning of this partner meeting.
Ákos Balázs said that the city government is trying to make the dreams of the people of Debrecen come true, and one of the key points of this is to give similar emphasis to environmental protection alongside economic development. This is highlighted by the fact that a robust programme of defences and urban greening has been launched in the city. In addition, Debrecen’s flagship green programme, Civaqua, is underway and will be completed in November. It will bring the Tisza water to the Tócó watercourse, providing vital water for the old forests and later the Great Forest. This will reinforce the city’s environmental programmes.
Ákos Balázs pointed out that Debrecen has several areas of cooperation on green space, with Future of Debrecen and EDC both having an environmental working group, working in very good partnership with the green space department of the Municipality of Debrecen and the University of Debrecen.
On the tasks ahead, the Deputy Mayor said he was counting on Life IP’s experience in preparing the city’s new environmental programme. He added that another important scientific point is the development of an environmental monitoring system following the establishment of the University Biodiversity Centre, which is being prepared and implemented next year.
“We will also involve the population in this monitoring system, which will significantly increase the amount of data, giving us a more accurate picture of the current state of the city”- he concluded.
