Széchenyi István University hosted the international workshop of the Horizon Dalia EU project recently, which was attended by nearly sixty participants from nine countries. The aim of the workshop was to find solutions to restore, protect and conserve our water ecosystems. As part of the programme, participants also visited key sites of the Szigetköz rehabilitation.

Horizon Dalia project participants develop and implement innovative solutions to help solve water management problems. The role of the Water Management Research Group of Széchenyi István University within the project is to present, analyse and disseminate good practices of floodplain ecosystem rehabilitation in the Szigetköz region. Previously, the research group developed proposals for the Szigetköz water recharge system and the Moson-Duna in the Insula Magna project, in close cooperation with the North Transdanubian Water Directorate. As a result, the Szigetköz could become one of Dalia's model areas.

The participants of the international workshop came from nine countries to Széchenyi István University (Photo: András Adorján)

The four-year project was launched in January this year under the leadership of the General Directorate of Water Management, with the participation of Széchenyi University and twenty other national and international partners. Its aim is to develop efficient and economically viable systems for the restoration and sustainable use of freshwater ecosystems in the Danube river basin. The programme will pay particular attention to increasing the permeability of rivers and protecting biodiversity in the face of the expected impacts of climate change. 

"The project gives us the opportunity to work with prestigious consortium partners, which could be the start of further fruitful international cooperation for SZE."

- said the project's professional leader, Dr Katalin Bene, Associate Professor of the Department of Transport Infrastructure and Water Resources Engineering of the institution. 

"In addition to building international relations, our participation is also significant because it contributes to the sustainability and development of the region, in line with our university's objectives. It is not only forward-looking in terms of research and innovation, but also in social terms."– she added.

The staff members of Széchenyi István University participating in the project are: professional coordinator Máté Chappon, expert Dr. Richard Ray, professional manager Katalin Bene, engineer Klaudia Madarász, economic manager Viktória Szinyei and expert Emil Janák. 

"The role of Szigetköz in the project is also outstanding, as other sample areas do not have the same amount of information as this region, neither in terms of their spatial extent nor in terms of their time horizon. Our aim is to replicate these good practices in other areas that meet the criteria, once we have identified good examples. In addition, we will give priority to channel the results of Szigetköz rehabilitation into social and economic - said Máté Chappon, technical coordinator of the project and assistant professor at the Department of Transport Infrastructure and Water Resources Engineering.

As part of the workshop, the delegation, accompanied by the staff of the North Transdanubian Water Directorate, visited the Moson-Danube estuary and were shown the key structure of the Szigetköz rehabilitation, the Danube-Kiliti dam. In addition to the professional programmes, the participants were able to discover the local gastronomy in Darnózseli and the modern campus of the institution in Győr.