In recent years floods have caused enormous damage and to prevent this the Government has launched a comprehensive programme called the Improvement of the Vásárhelyi Plan (IVP). In step with the original plan, new objectives have emerged, contributing to a solution for the Tisza Region’s problems in water management and regional and rural development. In tandem with the planning stage, a strategic environmental assessment has also been conducted. The assessment’s objective was to develop a multi-criteria system to help choose from a variety of feasible development plans, the ultimate goal being sustainability associated with social, economic, and environmental objectives. In its related decree, the Government recognised the results of the applied multicriteria decision-making process.