A környezetvédelem fontos.

In Hungarian, the verb to be is usually left out in the present tense, third person when the predicate is a noun, adjective, or adverb.

So Hungarian says:

• A környezetvédelem fontos. = Environmental protection is important.

But in other persons, the verb appears:

• Fontos vagyok. = I am important.
• Fontos vagy. = You are important.
• Fontosak. = They are important.
  or more fully: Ők fontosak.

In the past or future, to be also appears:

• A környezetvédelem fontos volt. = Environmental protection was important.

A is the definite article, meaning the.

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

• a
• az

They both mean the. Which one you use depends on the sound at the beginning of the next word:

• a before a consonant sound: a környezetvédelem
• az before a vowel sound: az iskola

So a környezetvédelem means the environmental protection or, more naturally in English, just environmental protection, depending on context.

Hungarian often uses the definite article more naturally than English does with general concepts, abstract ideas, and subjects being discussed.

So A környezetvédelem fontos is completely normal Hungarian, even though in English we often prefer Environmental protection is important rather than The environmental protection is important.

This is something English speakers just have to get used to: article usage does not match English exactly.

Yes, it is one word, and that is very normal in Hungarian.

It is built from:

• környezet = environment, surroundings
• védelem = protection

So környezetvédelem literally means environment-protection, i.e. environmental protection.

Hungarian often forms compounds this way, where English might use:

• two words
• an adjective + noun
• or a longer phrase

Other similar Hungarian compounds are very common, so this is a useful pattern to notice.

Because Hungarian adjectives do not agree with the noun the way they do in some other languages.

Fontos stays fontos whether the noun is singular, plural, masculine, feminine, neuter, etc. Hungarian does not have grammatical gender, and adjectives usually do not change for that kind of agreement.

Compare:

• A könyv fontos. = The book is important.
• A kérdés fontos. = The question is important.
• A környezetvédelem fontos.

However, in some sentence types, the predicate adjective can take a plural marker:

• A könyvek fontosak. = The books are important.

So in your sentence, fontos is singular because környezetvédelem is singular.

A rough pronunciation is:

KUR-nyeh-zet-VAY-deh-lem

A few important points:

• Stress in Hungarian is always on the first syllable: KÖRnyezetvédelem
• ö is like the vowel in German schön or French peu
• é is a long ay-like sound
• ny is like Spanish ñ in señor
• zs, sz, gy, ny, ty, cs and other letter combinations are treated as single sounds in Hungarian, so it helps to learn them early

You do not need a perfect accent immediately, but first-syllable stress is especially important.

It is in the nominative form, which is the basic dictionary form of the noun.

There is no special ending here. The sentence is simply:

• subject: A környezetvédelem
• predicate adjective: fontos

Hungarian often adds clear case endings to nouns, but in this sentence there is none.

For example, with a case ending you might get something like:

• A környezetvédelemről beszélünk. = We are talking about environmental protection.

There, -ról / -ről is a case ending. But in A környezetvédelem fontos, the noun is just in its basic form.

Yes, Hungarian word order is more flexible than English word order, but changes in word order often affect focus or emphasis.

The neutral sentence is:

• A környezetvédelem fontos.

If you change the order, you may create emphasis:

• Fontos a környezetvédelem. = Environmental protection is important / It is environmental protection that is important, depending on context and intonation

Both are grammatical, but they do not always feel exactly the same in emphasis.

For beginners, it is best to learn A környezetvédelem fontos as the neutral pattern.

Use:

• a before a consonant sound
• az before a vowel sound

Examples:

• a környezetvédelem
• a könyv
• az ember
• az iskola

This is based on pronunciation, not just spelling.

So here it is a környezetvédelem because környezetvédelem begins with k, a consonant sound.

Here, fontos is an adjective meaning important.

It is commonly used in simple statements like:

• Ez fontos. = This is important.
• A család fontos. = Family is important.

It can also appear before a noun:

• fontos kérdés = an important question

So Hungarian uses it both:

• predicatively: A kérdés fontos.
• attributively: fontos kérdés

That is very similar to English important.

Because környezetvédelem is treated as a singular abstract noun.

Just like English uses singular abstract nouns such as:

• Education is important
• Freedom is important
• Patience is important

Hungarian does the same:

• Az oktatás fontos.
• A szabadság fontos.
• A türelem fontos.
• A környezetvédelem fontos.

So even though the idea is broad and general, the grammar is singular.