Significant parts of Budapest Zoo have been re-landscaped as part of a project to improve the botanical diversity of the Zoo’s gardens as well as to improve its green credentials.
Improving bio-diversity and sustainability
- 07 January 2014
The new infiltration system brings water to deeper layers of the soil and improves the condition of plants, while decreasing the amount of water used and decreasing the amount of water taken away as sewage. This makes the Zoo more sustainable and credible, as we are not just talking about environmental protection and responsible behaviour but actually doing it!
Some of the most botanically interesting and diverse areas of Budapest Zoo have been refurbished as part of a series of ERDF-funded improvement projects.
The EUR 1 million scheme, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, involved redesigning and replanting areas of gardens close to the main entrance, a Japanese garden, the so-called Great Lake and a rock garden.
Following an assessment of the condition of the trees and plants in these areas, the decision was taken to reduce the number of non-indigenous species – particularly the large number of woody plants that were of little botanical interest to the collection. At the same time, a large number of trees in potentially dangerous condition were pruned or removed for safety reasons.
Protecting nesting sites
A particular challenge of the project was carrying out the work while preserving the established hiding or nesting places of numerous species of birds, bats and insects.
As a result of the project, the Zoo’s important botanical collection of plants and trees is significantly larger and more diverse than before.
Watering system made more environmentally-friendly
The project also involved improvements to the Zoo’s drainage and watering systems, through the building of new ditches which redirect surface rainwater to places in need of water. As a result, the upper layers of soil in these areas are watered through a new infiltration system, which replaces the previous less efficient irrigation system which used far more water to keep the topsoil moist and resulted in large amounts of rainwater being piped away as sewage.
In addition, the project involved planting 272 new species and varieties of plants and landscaping 1.34 hectares of the Zoo to make the areas more attractive to visitors.
Educational boost
New interpretative information boards were erected at various sites around the gardens, to inform visitors about what they are looking at.
Project manager Vince Zsigmond said that the work has made the areas more attractive to visitors, improved plant diversity and improved the Zoo’s educational, research and conservation potential.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Habitat and Collection Reconstruction at Budapest Zoological and Botanical Garden, Phase II” is EUR 1 021 455, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 919 188 through the “Central Hungary” Operational Programme for the 2007-2013 programming period.