At the Bottom of the Pit
Zsolt, a local ranger, stands in an 11.5-meter-deep dry wildlife trough in the middle of the ‘Sand Ridges’. The groundwater level drops by about half a meter every year.
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The Water Guardians
The Water Guardians
Fighting for mitigation the effect of climate disaster in the Great Plain
2024-2025
The extreme drought of 2024 and 2022 has painfully highlighted the need for a review of current water management. Economic, industrial and residential demands require ever-increasing water use, while the region's desiccation seems ongoing and unstoppable.
The Water Guardians team was formed in 2024 from volunteers and operates as a civil community. Local farmers, water experts, conservationists and ordinary people will come together for a common cause on the Sand Ridge (classified as a semi-desert by the UN FAO in 2004), to keep water in the landscape.
Their interventions are a last chance for the areas and their wildlife to survive and mitigate the negative impacts of droughts.
Using simple tools such as shovels, buckets, manual strength and will, they are building dams in the right place in the canals. They are trying to ensure that the water that means life doesn't flow away and prevent the further erosion of a region on the brink of ecological collapse.
Angi, Water Guardian, Resting
“If we overconsume and overexploit, we’ll lose ecological services that you simply can’t buy in a store. I believe that in order for the world to become a better place, I must also take action. Here, on the edge of the ‘Sand Ridges’, where I live, I can still make a difference.”
Withered Plant in a Drainage Canal
Local actions can spark small but fragile changes in limited areas. However, to save the entire region from desertification—or at least mitigate its effects—a comprehensive plan is needed, one that allows the benefits to add up.
Exhaustion
The ‘Sand Ridges’ are on the brink of ecological collapse. As the water disappears and bird populations decline, the number of invasive insect species increases.
Laci, leader of the Water Guardians' Guerrilla group, near on His Dried-Up Homestead
“We’ve been fighting for years to keep water in the land, to store it when it’s here. There are promises and words, but by the time anything is actually done, there will be no place left for us to live. The fate of a million people is at stake. We’ve been left to fend for ourselves. We must take our fate into our own hands. And I don't shy away from illegal actions either.”
Building Dams
The Water Guardians create small barriers from the trunks of poplar trees knocked over by summer storms, guiding the water back into its former streambeds so it can flood and soak the land. These actions are mostly possible in winter and spring, when there’s still some water left in the landscape.
Wetland
Ágnes, a Water Guardian After an Action, Mud Smeared on Her Face
Ági, who lives in the western part of the country, has participated in every Water Guardian event, spending her free time shoveling and carrying buckets of soil. For her, water guarding is not just about social bonding—it’s a way of life, a defense of living ecosystems.
András and Tibor, Water Guardians blocking a sluice gate
They block a sluice in a canal to prevent water from escaping through the drainage network. The Great Plain is crisscrossed by around 40,000 kilometers of drainage canals—roughly the length of the Equator. Originally built to drain excess water, these canals now remove the very water needed for survival.
Balázs, a Water Guardian, in a Flooded Area with His Gear
“What’s great about water guarding is that anyone can do it, regardless of age, gender, religion, nationality, or politics.
The shared goal and value—water—is vital and irreplaceable for all of us.”
Summer Memory on the Banks of the Tisza River
Surface water flow in spring is declining. For the Tisza, this means a 25–46% drop over the past 40 years. Groundwater reserves are also shrinking. In the last four years alone, the Tisza has lost about 30% of its water. It crosses the Great Hungarian Plain and borders the eastern edge of the 'Sand Ridges'.
A Ferryboat on the Field
Due to drastically lowered river levels, ferry service interruptions are becoming more frequent—yet some villages can only be reached this way.
Searching for Water
Gamekeepers looking for water in one of Hungary’s driest areas.
Groundwater continues to recede— earlier flowing water was in the canal. Now lies about 2 meters below in the ground.
The Last Watercourse
Laura in a Lakebed That Dried Up Over the Summer
Laura and her friends are rescuing frogs, following the trail of disappearing water.
Péter, the First Climate Refugee, with His Horses
In recent summers, Péter's well has run dry earlier and earlier. He now leads his horses to the river to drink.
Forced to leave his previous home due to water scarcity, he reduced his herd from ten to two.
Now living near the Tisza—which itself is shrinking—he watches as the river draws even the groundwater from nearby fields, deepening the drought.
Farewell to the Ferry
Due to record-low water levels, ferry service on the lower Tisza has been suspended indefinitely.
A couple watches its final crossing.
Water Guardians in Action
Using shovels and buckets, Water Guardians build earth dams at drainage canals to redirect water toward drying salt wasteland, preventing the precious remaining water from flowing out through the canal network and eventually into the Danube—and out of the country. Retaining water in the landscape is crucial because it can seep into deeper soil layers and raise groundwater levels, which is essential to prevent total desiccation of the region. A combination of factors—lack of snow cover, outdated water management practices designed for water surplus, and climate change—drive this desiccation. As summer and drought approach, the Water Guardians’ final action brings water to a salt wasteland in the northeastern 'Sand Ridges', a region the UN FAO declared a semi-desert zone in 2004, with severely limited agricultural potential.
Géza, a Water Guardian Among the Shovels
Géza, a geographer, forester, and horse trainer, moved to a homestead in the ‘Sand Ridges’ 12 years ago. Back then, wetlands hosted nesting birds and croaking frogs—now, drought has wiped most of them out.
Rita, Water Guardian, Waiting for his turn with empty buckets
“I often worry about the future and feel anxious wondering what life on Earth will be like in a few years if this destruction continues. How much do I really impact my surroundings in everyday life? I feel small and powerless in the face of such massive changes. But when I come out to join the Water Guardians, it gives me a sense of purpose—like I’ve actually done something, taken action.”
Still-Living Creatures in the Water
Wetlands linked to salt wasteland are not permanently flooded but should hold water from early spring to midsummer to provide habitat for water-dependent species. If there’s a wetter winter, frogs and birds may return in spring to breed in these revived habitats.
Water Begins to Flow
To sustain the region, around 100,000 water-retention structures need to be built or rebuilt annually across the Great Plain.
If 10 people can build 3 earth dams a day by hand, that’s 500 dams with 10 workers.
As full-time jobs, an estimated 2,000 trained laborers and about 200 environmental engineers, horticulturalists, or biologists would be required—about 3,000 workers and 300 experts nationwide.
These numbers could drop significantly if small earth-moving machines are available or if lower-maintenance dam designs are implemented.
Bucket Castle
András, Water Guardian, Resting After Digging
András travels from the capital to guard water. After hours of digging and hauling soil, he could fall asleep standing.
He shields his head from the sun with his T-shirt.
Water Guardians Survey the Terrain
The community now has several hundred members, with 10–15 active participants per event.
Each action is carefully planned in coordination with the national park, local farmers, and water and ecology experts.
Szabolcs, Water Guardian, Watching the Rising Water in the Spring Rain
“The idea of water guarding works in reverse.
When there's water—surplus—we need to hold and spread it instead of draining it.
Under current climate conditions, we simply can't afford to let even a drop go.”
Sándor, local ranger, Watches the Slowly Vanishing Water in summertime at the edge of the watering pit
“It’s like someone pulled the plug in a bathtub. Afterwards, it looks like a bomb crater,” he says.
The wildlife trough in Hungary’s southernmost Great Plain is about 8 meters deep.
A 1.5-meter light-colored band near the top marks the water closing layer. The groundwater is well below that.
“Now you’d need an excavator to dig it deeper—but what’s the point if there’ll be no wildlife left to drink it?”
Burned Sheep Carcass in the Dried and Scorched Water Canal Bed
Géza Shows the Dried Trees Near His Homestead
“This is why I joined the Water Guardians—to help return water from the nearby canal to the land. It’s heartbreaking to witness the drying process. This place also needs water—the peat forest is completely dry.”
Portrait of Géza, leader of the Marshland Water Guardians
Géza’s land lies on the floodplain of two small streams, where the pasture stays green even in summer. Still, as a local farmer, he watches with sorrow as the region dries out and his neighbors further afield are forced to abandon their farms. To find water, wells must be drilled deeper and deeper. Farmers across the 'Sand Ridges' fear the situation will only worsen. Inspired by the Water Guardians, Géza has founded his own local Water Guardian cell.
A Marsh Turtle Shell on the Windowsill
The pond turtle is Hungary’s only native turtle species. Its population is declining year by year due to wetland loss. We don’t yet know which species' extinction could trigger full ecological collapse. Many biologists consider our era part of a mass extinction event—possibly the fastest ever. Human activity may cause half of all species to disappear within the next century. Reports like the IUCN’s annual Red List show the pace of extinction is accelerating.
The Cracked Earth
By autumn, after weeks of drought, drying lakes, riverbeds, and soils across the Great Plain began to split open.
In some dried lakebeds, cracks are 10–20 centimeters wide—enough to fit an adult hand.
István, a Local Farmer, Shows the place of the Vanished Water
The Water Guardians are fighting an uphill battle against climate change.
Water retained in autumn, winter, and spring begins to disappear again during summer and winter droughts, leading to further erosion and environmental degradation.
“What can one do against this wide scale of changes? We fight year after year—but will it be enough?”
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