Ankara Green City Action Plan Introduced to the Public

Ankara Metropolitan Municipality shared with the public the 'Ankara Green City Action Plan', which will be prepared within the scope of the EBRD Green Cities program. Metropolitan Mayor Mansur Yavaş, who attended the meeting, was awarded the best transportation project award by the EBRD for his work on transportation to the Capital City. Stressing the fight against climate change, Yavaş said, “As the Metropolitan Municipality, I would like to state that we are aware of this problem and that we are continuing our work rapidly. We have to play a team game with all our components in the fight against climate change," he said.

Ankara Metropolitan Municipality continues to implement environmental projects in order to leave a more livable, nature-friendly and ecological city legacy to future generations.

Metropolitan Municipality introduced the “Ankara Green City Action Plan” to the public, which will be prepared within the scope of the EBRD Green Cities program. Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yavaş, EBRD Turkey President Arvid Tuerkner, Taiwan Business official Volkan Chih-Yang Huang, ARUP officials and many municipal bureaucrats attended the introductory meeting held at the Metropolitan Municipality Conference Hall.

YAVAŞ: “WE ARE AWARE OF CLIMATE CHANGE”

Stating that the Green City Action Plan is a turning point for the Capital in the fight against climate change and environmental problems, Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mansur Yavaş made important evaluations in his speech at the meeting:

“Although we are experiencing the effects of climate change, which is at our doorstep, we will experience it more severely in the future if measures are not taken. As the Metropolitan Municipality, I would like to state that we are aware of this problem and that we are continuing our work rapidly. We have to play a team game with all our components in the fight against climate change. We should not forget that people, especially women, are at the center of this struggle. With the belief that our capital should be a model as a modern city built in the Republican era; It became a part of the Green Cities Program of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on 27 August 2020 to make our city a sustainable, resilient and inclusive city.”

Stating that they closely follow the climate, water, air, soil and climate change problems in Ankara, Yavaş said, “The plan to be prepared will also include issues such as water, energy, waste, infrastructure, transportation system, buildings and green areas in order to increase the quality of our local environment and the resilience of our city. Projects and policy actions aimed at making changes in the titles will be evaluated.

SMART AGRICULTURE PERIOD IN ANKARA

Noting the importance of starting the Green City Action Plan right after the Climate Action Plan, which was prepared for the first time in Ankara, in terms of sustainability in terms of solving environmental problems, Metropolitan Mayor Mansur Yavaş pointed out that first of all, agricultural production should be increased:

“3 percent of Ankara has been opened for construction, 97 percent is empty. We have a large land. 50% of this is suitable for agriculture. Now we are starting to work on agriculture. On the other hand, environmental factors are challenging us due to climate change. We bring the two together. With smart agriculture projects, we want our people to earn money and achieve this without polluting the environment, while increasing production and eliminating situations such as wild irrigation. We are continuing the work quickly.”

PRAISE TO ANKARA

Arvid Tuerkner, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Turkey, who attended the meeting and started his speech with the words "Ankara, as the second city in Turkey to participate in the Green Cities Program, acts as a pioneer and sets an example for other cities", also said:

“We believe that a city like Ankara, which has achieved so much success, will set an excellent example. Therefore, once again, I would like to thank Mayor Yavaş and his entire team, especially the Municipality's Climate Change Unit, for their close cooperation with us.”

Taipei economy and culture mission representative Volkan Chih-Yang Huang emphasized all kinds of cooperation with local governments as climate conditions change and said, "We are very pleased to work in partnership with Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, which supports the Green City Action Plan of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development." .

BEST TRANSPORTATION PROJECT AWARD TO THE PRESIDENT YAVAS

ARUP Turkey Planning and Urban Design Leader Sertaç Erten made a presentation on the Ankara Green City Action Plan after the opening speeches.

While information was given about the preparation process of the Green City Action Plan, the adoption and development of the action plan, a detailed presentation was made to the participants about the project, which is planned to last for 2 years.

At the end of the meeting, EBRD Turkey President Arvid Tuerkner presented Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yavaş with the 'Best Transportation Project' award for his EGO Bus Project.