Integrated land-use zonation system in Hungary as a territorial base for agri-environmental programs

The prerequisite for sustainable agriculture is that land should be used everywhere with appropriate intensity for the most suitable purpose or for what it can tolerate without damage. Therefore, one of the most important characteristic of sustainable production practice is the establishment of a system of activities and degree of intensity that fits to the landscape and the environment; and a promotion of a land use system that stems directly from the environment and its potentials and limits. The objective of the study is to evaluate the suitability of these areas for agricultural production (i.e. agricultural potential) and environmental sensitivity. The study serves good results to a regionally different but harmonized agricultural, rural and environmental policy making; provide a direct base in the field of land-use for a long- term national rural development concept; can help in the development of a sustainable land-use structure, which is adjusted to the ecological conditions, and also in the realization of the sustainable development in practice.