Nagybajom - „The Town of Storks”

5th Meeting of the European Stork Villages Network:
5 June - 8 June, 2008

NAGYBAJOM


Number of inhabitants: 3500
Region: Komitat Somogy
State: Hungary

Number of pairs of storks:
1958 - 4, 1963 - 7, 1979 - 6, 1984 - 11, 1992 - 18, 1996 - 25, 1998 - 33





Nature protection
To the south, the commune borders with the protected area of Boronka, 7,933 hectares in area (forest, fishponds, prairies). The commune, forestry authority and agricultural coop take part in the association called Green Bridge Balaton - Drava. The association is charged with preserving the habitats (pastures, forests, fishponds) and the ecological corridor between Balaton and the Drava National Park. Alongside the white stork, here there are 15 pairs of sea eagles and quite a lot of otters. A protection order was placed on 400 acres of pasture in 1996.


Distinctive features
Artificial nests, or platforms for nests on electricity posts, were put up throughout Hungary from the seventies on. This led to a growth of from 4005 to 4774 pairs of storks between 1974 and 1979. Since then the number of white storks in Hungary has been almost constant. This campaign was implemented by the Hungarian Electricity Board and the Hungarian Bird and Nature Protection Society.
Since 1993 there has been an active ecological partnership between Lower Saxony's Schortens and Nagybajom. Since then the commune days have been celebrated. Important campaigns have included the building of a biological device for effluent treatment in Nagybaom, the arrangement of pools for amphibians, and the maintenance of the meadows in Schortens, and, since 1996, the maintenance of pastures. There have been very good cultural stimuli as well - the teaching of German in the school in Nagybaom, an adult education course in Hungarian in Schortens, and regular exchanges between youth groups. The holding of German-Hungarian ecology weeks should be particularly stressed.

Additional information:
Schneider-Jacoby, M. Guide to the Nature of the Drava-Mura, Jurgen Resch, 1996.
Euronatur: Description of the Drava Boronka project. Annual reports

Please visit: www.euronatur.org