Drought-related vulnerability and its policy implications in Hungary

Drought phenomena have been frequent in Hungarian history. One of the most important sectors in Hungary is agriculture, so the agricultural drought is a particularly important area to be examined. The purpose of the study is to determine how vulnerable each county (NUTS-3 regions) is to the expected effects of drought. The study provides an assessment framework of drought-related vulnerabilities and the preparedness of drought policies at the NUTS-3 level in Hungary. The drought-related vulnerability of NUTS-3 regions was determined by selected exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity indicators. The calculation of drought vulnerability is based on the IPCC 2007 methodology, while the input data were derived from the National Adaptation Geo-information System online data platform and Hungarian agro-statistical data sources. An assessment framework of drought-related policy performance of NUTS-3-level climate change strategies was developed. The evaluation methodology is based on a specific scorecard of evaluation criteria related to the performance of the county’s drought-related objectives and measures. According to the relationship between the county’s drought-related vulnerability and policy performance, the counties were classified into four types. The main results show that several counties fail the target by overestimating the role of drought prevention, with little vulnerability index. In contrast, many counties are not adequately prepared for the impacts of drought, despite their high vulnerability index.