Research Information System
in: Springer Water, Springer Nature, pp.245-262, 2026
Ankara, the capital of Türkiye, is located at the central Anatolian region, poses a cold semi-arid middle latitude steppe climate, a high risky province in terms of drought. Therefore, the city needs to strengthen its transformative capacities in water sector to sustain broader livability, resilience and prosperity over the long term. An adaptation mainstreaming approach based on “water sensitive” Nature based Solutions (NbS) could help reduce the uncertainties associated with climate change’s impact on water. Subsequent to desktop study, 25 key informant interviews have been conducted in this study. This study focused on the challenges that need to overcome by the stakeholders. It has been found that Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, Çankaya Municipality and Golbaşı Municipality are comparatively more active, and practice different types of nature based solutions on water such as biological ponds in the parks, rainwater harvesting, storm water harvesting. This study recommends that there is a need to increase capacity of municipal authorities to sensitize water security and resiliency issues. Strong and committed leadership, robust planning on water and climate change, and good coordination among relevant agencies/stakeholders are indispensable to creating a water-sensitive municipality. Even a clear, municipal-wide strategic plan for integrating NbS into water sector is a vital step in strengthening Ankara’s water resilience.