THE SHEEP AS THE TOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
Jávor, András
Nábrádi, András
Molnár, Györgyi
Molnár, Balázs
Kukovics, Sándor
Research Institute for Animal
Breeding and Nutrition
Herceghalom, Hungary
Debrecen University of Agricultural Sciences
Debrecen, Hungary
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ABSTRACT
The use of pastures becomes significant in Hungary. The yield of more than one million ha of grass is low.
Dispersion and seasonal fluctuation of yield make their use difficult. At the same time unused pastures become
wild, full of weeds and forests develop on them. Weeds make cultivation and plant protection difficult. Besides,
weeds contribute highly to the increased number of allergic symptoms in humans. The cost associated with this
problem of public health can be put at billions of HUF.
An estimated 200-250 thousand ha are not suitable for profitable animal production. There were data found in
the literature in association with the income and profit loss of extensive pasture use, but there were no data on
real costs of maintaining pastures with or without animals. Examples citing that sheep are used to make forests
and swamps clean from weeds can be found. On these areas, farmers obtain significant agricultural subsidies
from governments. This is associated with production, improvement of the infrastructure, keeping the population
and maintaining the cultivated area; furthermore, it provides a significant part of the producers’ income.
Conditions and solutions for practical operation of environmental sheep production must be developed
through involving resources of areas and ministries concerned (environmental protection, social and health,
agriculture, Ministry of Interior and Labour and local government as well) in Hungary.
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INTRODUCTION
The use of pastures becomes significant in Hungary. The yield of more than one million ha
of grass is low. Dispersion and seasonal fluctuation of yield make their use difficult. At the
same time unused pastures become wild, full of weeds and forests develop on them. Weeds
make cultivation and plant protection difficult. Besides this, weeds contribute highly to the
increased number of allergic symptoms in humans. The cost associated with the problem of
public health can be put at billions of HUF.
An estimated 200-250 thousand hectares are not suitable for profitable animal production.
There were data found in the literature in association with the income and profit loss of
extensive pasture use; but there were no data on real costs of maintaining pastures with or
without animals.
Examples of sheep used to make forests and swamps clean from weeds can be found. On
these areas farmers obtain significant agricultural subsidies from governments. This is
associated with production, improvement of the infrastructure, keeping the population and
maintaining the cultivated area; furthermore, it provides a significant part of the producers’
income.
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Conditions and solutions for practical operation of environmental sheep production must
be developed by involving resources of areas and ministries concerned (environmental
protection, social and health, agriculture, Ministry of Interior and Labour and local
governments as well) in Hungary.
Agriculture, forests and game management
Agriculture is an activity that links directly to the natural, living world since these are the
subjects of farming. However this sector is not suited to the challenge of the market economy
with environmentally friendly tools. Main issues of agriculture are increasing yields,
decreasing labour costs and taking advantage of productivity improvement opportunities
provided by the industry.
Large-scale cultivation contributed to a decrease in both biodiversity and the quality of
landscape significantly. Crop production utilizing chemicals without expertise and liquid
manure from animal production were damaging primarily to subsoil waters and to the quality
of arable land, as well. Interests of forest and game management are often opposite to issues
of environmental protection, especially forestry strange to the landscape, cutting all trees and
increasing game herd size beyond the capacity of the land.
The most important issue of the sector is to develop modern, environment-friendly
agriculture for the turn of millennium. The utilization of industrialized agricultural
technologies is not a solution, but such environment-friendly technologies which consider
conditions and expertise of the country and which target the production of consumer goods
must be developed.
Owner’s attitude
There are tasks of environmental protection not linked to the market economy. There is a
need for operating such mechanisms that realize natural aims and provide economical tools
for this. An owner attitude and conscience as well should be developed at the governmental
and local authorities level in order to keep values.
This strategy aims for the exemplary behaviour in environmental protection, because
without this the generosity of the population and entrepreneurs in favour of the environment
cannot be expected. Besides the owners’ attitude, obedience to rules are also needed. The
stronger the attitude, the more concrete the subject of farming. Appearance of problems is
more typical on the local or regional level. On the basis of these two factors, local and
regional levels must be built upon considerably.
The realization of environmental activity is always on local and regional levels. The
strategy includes a solution that provides better opportunity for the operation of local and
regional intervention.
Marsh fields and marshlands
Marsh fields and marshlands are really sensitive and valuable living places. Many
unfavourable changes have occurred. Their drying up is the consequence of unfavourable
weather changes but harmful technological implications on cisterns as well as liquidation of
wet areas have been contributing to this. Drying up of these lands can limit nitrogen
breakdown processes, while marshlands are sensitive to improving nitrogen supply. This trend
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is well reflected in weeds and nettle patches developing on marsh fields. Therefore marsh
cadaster is going to be developed. Essential protected living places must be indicated and the
necessary water quantity must be supplied.
Mezophile fields were damaged significantly, mainly in the recent 20-25 years. Our
mowing lands on hills and mountains were developed even during the Turkish Empire and
this state was not changed until the socialist settlement and industry politics. Thereafter
villages depopulated, small scale farming was liquidated, the younger labour force wandered
to the industry and animal production with traditional feeding systems has stopped. As a
consequence our field management – disregarding the intensive cultivated, irrigated,
oversown and sprayed fields- has come to an end. These are the most fearful signs of ruining
biodiversity. Consequently, this is an element where conservation and living place
reconstruction activity must be supported significantly.
Among flora and fauna elements of the Pannon basin, many live on pusztafields and
cliffgrasses. Main causes of the deterioration of conditions on these living places are the
following: ploughing up grasslands, weed growth, forestation, etc. Significant increase of
forest areas is due to such forestation processes where edafic grasslands were ploughed. The
decrease of mosaic–like alkaline grasslands is attributed to weather causes as well as the
decrease in previous grazing intensity. Only a small portion of the original alkaline
pusztafields remain. Their condition is satisfactory, nevertheless these are in danger because
the size of the population is near the critical level. Primarily, the opportunity for further
destruction must be eliminated (grassland ploughing must be regulated) and remaining living
places must be protected in their present condition.
The real interest in landscape protection is still at a low level today and responsibility is
cleared satisfactorily. There is no base and source for value protection. “Starving for areas”,
realized day by day, endangers even lands kept in environmentally valuable condition.
Realizing the necessity for sustainable development there needs to be a change in the way of
thinking. Thus, with regard to the environmental condition system, limits must be considered
consistently and strictly. This necessitates the development of a new adjustment strategy.
A special group of biological pathogens consists of pollens and fungi. The rate of
inclination towards allergy in the human population reaches 40 percent. On the basis of T.B.
clinic records, the amount of asthmatic cases between 1983-1992 and since 1988 of hay-fever
have been doubled and quadrupled, respectively. Twenty-four percent and 29 percent of the
population live on areas with moderately and heavily contaminated air, respectively. The SO2
and the dust in winter, the NO2 and the dust are indicators of air contamination. The smog
causes 3-5 percent and 7-10 percent increase in death and respiratory disease, respectively.
Primarily the flying dust content - among measured components causing contamination of the
air - is the source of allergic respiratory disease. The nitrogen-oxide damages the mucous
membrane of the upper respiratory tract, making the defense mechanism of the body less
effective.
Expenses for environmental protection also lead to significant advantages expressed in
cash, despite what it imposes on state finances, farmers and the population.
These positive externals are realized in the human health sector most obviously.
Improvement of the environmental condition appears in the state of health of the population,
decreasing social insurance expenses. Indirect expenses for environmental protection
development - costs of modernization are considered as environmental protection expenses are recovered abundantly in the decreasing use of energy and raw material. Cleaning of
contaminated areas increases the property value; expenses of waste management are recovered
by moderate recycling or making innocuous costs.
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CONCLUSION
Our feature, namely having one million ha of pasture, means opportunities in sheep nutrition.
Otherwise it tasks us to use these areas. Its cultivation is necessary. Besides it is costly, since
weed covered, uncontrolled pastures are typical of the country but make crop production and
plant protection difficult and often cause pollen pollution and diseases also. Therefore it can
increase human health costs. The field maintenance with sheep is the cheapest, most efficient
and most nature-like method by our calculation. Beside the normative financial support of
8 000-10 000 HUF per ha is enough today in order to maintain one ha of these areas.
REFERENCES
Hungarian Environmental Protection Programme. 1997. Ministry for Environment and
Region Development. Budapest
Jávor, A. & Kukovics, S. 1996. A megváltozott juhászatok legelőigénye a megváltozott
viszonyok között [The grassland demand of the changed sheepfarms wihin the transformed
condition]. In: Gyepgazdálkodási szakülés [Special Grassfarming Session], Debrecen, p.
105-106.
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