Hungarians protest with camels to raise alarm over drought
Hungary is considered one of the most vulnerable countries to drought in the European Union, as the world faces the effects of human-driven climate change, which includes longer, more frequent and more intense heatwaves, as well as changing global precipitation patterns.
Experts warn that the country's southern region between its two main rivers -- the Danube and the Tisza -- is drying out and slowly turning into a desert.
A recent AFP analysis of data from the European Drought Observatory (EDO) showed that 63 percent of Hungary's territory suffered severe levels of drought between July 11 and 19.
Protesters accuse the central European nation of pursuing erroneous water management policies, focusing on outdated water drainage and irrigation development systems.
"In the late 19th century, agricultural policy devised a water management system designed for excessive rainfall," Lajos Racz, a climate and environmental historian from the University of Szeged, told AFP.
"But by the end of the 20th century, this system had become completely dysfunctional" since global warming had led to significantly less rainfall in the region, said Racz, who was among the more than 100 people that marched to the Ministry of Agriculture.
The demonstrators urged the government to designate areas suitable for water retention and to promote sustainable land use.
"Our goal is to restore the conditions necessary for agricultural production and existence... a sensible approach to land use, where the landscape and humans are allies, rather than working against nature with huge amounts of fossil fuels," said farmer Laszlo Kulcsar, founder of the Green Guerrilla Movement, which organised the protest.
The caravan, which attracted many onlookers, also included musicians, stilt walkers and a juggler.
Some participants donned attire inspired by dystopian multimedia franchises such as Mad Max to warn about the consequences of inaction.
"We are drawing attention to the fact that this wasteland (clothing) style should not be our real future that we create for ourselves," cosplayer Agnes "Senga" Vadnai, told AFP.
The camel protest was held for a second year in a row.
The government claims it is committed to establishing responsible and sustainable agricultural water management, including support for irrigation development.
The Ministry of Agriculture has spent around 420 million euros ($488 million) financing water management projects by farmers over a seven-year period.
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