Introduction The European pond turtle is the only native chelonian species occurring within the present borders of Hungary. According to Fritz et al. (2007) Hungarian pond turtles belong to the nominate subspecies Emys orbicularis orbicularis (mtDNA haplotype IIa and/or IIc). Hungarian E. orbicularis inhabit stagnant and slowly lowing water bodies. Although there is a single record from 490 m a.s.l. (probably as a result of introduction; Puky et al., 2004), the species is generally found at much lower altitudes (300 m or less). It has so far been documented from 220 out of 1,060 10 × 10 km UTM squares (Farkas, 2008) and a nation-wide mapping program launched by WWF-Hungary keeps illing the gaps. The strongest populations are believed to inhabit the Great Hungarian Plain (Alföld) but quantitative data are lacking. There is no consensus regarding present status of E. orbicularis in Hungary: while some authorities report it in decline even in optimum habitat and certain popular sources claim it to be present in “very small numbers” in the country, others assert it to be in no need of speciic conservation action. However, none of these statements is backed by hard evidence (Farkas, 2008). Intense collecting for food in the 17th century followed by large-scale “reclamation” works initiated 200 years later resulted in steep declines in the numbers of Hungarian pond turtles, but the species was still considered abundant (Méhely, 1918; Dely, 1978). Whereas commercial collecting is no longer an issue, the fragmentation of wetland habitats continues, so the remaining populations tend to concentrate in artiicial or semi-natural ish ponds. Unfortunately, the same waterbodies are also increasingly stocked with abandoned pet turtles (mainly Trachemys scripta scripta and T. s. elegans but other [sub]species have been reported as well) that may on the long run outcompete native E. orbicularis. For more detailed overviews in English see Farkas (2000) and Farkas and Gulácsi (2009). Most research recently or presently conducted on Hungarian pond turtles is conservation-oriented and consists primarily of population surveys and monitoring according to standard procedures outlined in the National Biodiversity Monitoring System (Korsós, 1997; Kiss, 2005). Unfortunately, the Action Plan prepared in 2002 for WWF-Hungary by B. Farkas was ultimately not approved by the Minister of Environment and Water, so conservation activities remain largely uncoordinated and seriously underfunded. Herpetology Notes, volume 6: 107-110 (2013) (published online on 22 March 2013) Conservation activities for European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis) in Hungary Balázs Farkas 1,17 , Bálint Halpern 2 , Péter Agócs 3 , Róbert Dankovics 4 , Angéla Földi 5 , Erika Gulácsi 6 , György Györffy 7 , Zsóia Kalmár 8 , István Kiss 9 , Tibor Kovács 10 , Zsóia Eszter Lovász 11 , László Molnár 12 , Tamás Gergely Molnár 13 , Tamás Péchy 14 , Tibor Somlai 15 , László Torvaji 16,* 1 Bercsényi u. 21, 2464 Gyúró, Hungary. 2 Hungarian Ornithological and Nature Conservation Society – BirdLife Hungary, Költő u. 21, 1121 Budapest, Hungary. 3 Kiskunság National Park Directorate, Liszt F. u. 19, 6000 Kecskemét, Hungary. 4 Savaria Museum, Kisfaludy S. u. 9, 9700 Szombathely, Hungary. 5 Pintér út 21, 5000 Szolnok, Hungary. 6 Kossuth u. 34, 7334 Szalatnak, Hungary. 7 University of Szeged, Department of Ecology, Közép fasor 52, 6726 Szeged, Hungary. 8 Mezősi K. u. 7, 6100 Kiskunfélegyháza, Hungary. 9 Szent István University, Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology, Páter K. u. 1, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary. 10 Hunyadvár u. 43/a, 1156 Budapest, Hungary. 11 Ady E. u. 22, 2142 Nagytarcsa, Hungary. 12 Kiskunság National Park Directorate, Liszt F. u. 19, 6000 Kecskemét, Hungary. 13 Kaposvár University, Faculty of Animal Sciences, Guba S. u. 40, 7401 Kaposvár, Hungary. 14 Hungarian Ornithological and Nature Conservation Society – BirdLife Hungary, Költő u. 21, 1121 Budapest, Hungary. 15 Munkácsy u. 2/a, 4355 Nagyecsed, Hungary. 16 Ódry Á. u. 2/a, 2022 Tahitótfalu, Hungary. 17 Corresponding author. E-mail: farkasbalazs@yahoo.com *Author order relects author contribution for the irst two authors and then follows alphabetical order Keywords. Emys orbicularis, Hungary, conservation