Environmental research

The drought and the aridity which we have experienced generally in summer time in Turkey in recent years affect life qualities adversly both in urban and rural areas. In urban scale, one of the considerably explicit problematic areas is green areas. This situation brings into consideration that it is necessary to use water tolerant and local plants in urban landscape designs instead of high water demand plants and also the need of information and awareness on xseriscape landscape designs and xseriscape plants. However currently the applications which consider water shortage and drought problems are very scarce in urban green areas of Ankara. The municipalities that are responsible for designing and constructing green areas and the firms which counter the demand of foliage plants of municipalities donot consider the situation. Generally intolerant plants which are not included by local flora are used in landscape designs. One of the important reason of this situation is the community of interest do not have enough information and awareness about climate change, drought, dealing the drought problem and xseriscape plants subjects. Whereas the Middle Anatolia Region where Ankara located, hosts a number of local plants which tolerance to aridity and also show aesthetics characteristics that enable to use them in landscape designs. The advantage of this nature can be evaluated in adaptation works against drought problem which we face in urban areas. Within this scope the objective of the project is; Raising awareness in usage of xseriscape plants in urban landscape designs in Ankara . The targets are: to grow 5 species which are identified as tolerant to drought and also occur in local flora, to use these plants in parks of ankaya and to give information to community of interest about xseriscape and climate change. The determined objective and related targets are achieved in 18 months by production of plants, education and introduction meetings and demonstration of plants in pilot parks. The target group of the project are the managers and staff in parks and environment departments in municipalities of Ankara who are responsible for designing urban parks and production of plant material; the representatives of firms who are dealing with plant production in Ankara; and university students who are attending to landscape architecture and agriculture engineer departments in Ankara. Considering the subject of the project, its target groups, activities and the groups in corporate cooperation during the activites, the project is compatible with "10. The nature and climate friendly applications that promote efficient energy use or decreasing energy demand in common pool areas in local level with cooperation of governmental, private sector and non governmental organization". In addition according to the supporting units, target groups and activities of the project is as "a. Focusing participation and promoting cooperation between public, local and national NGOs, private sector and governmental bodies".

Turkey