Russia Moves Sochi Olympic Sites Following UNEP Recommendations

04.07.08 - 18:42 ... source : United Nations Environement Programme - UNEP

... Moscow/Nairobi, 4 July 2008-The organizers of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in the Black Sea resort of Sochi have decided to relocate several facilities away from a protected wilderness area following recommendations from the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP). In line with UNEP's May '08 report, the Sochi organizers will find an alternative venue for the bobsleigh and luge tracks as well as the mountain village, which were to be built on the edge of a fragile nature reserve. Announcing the decision, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said: "In determining priorities-money or ecology-we choose ecology. If the balance of nature is upset, this could lead to a situation that would be impossible to restore for any money". Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director, said: "The decision to move the Sochi Olympic venues away from the Caucasus nature reserve is a significant ...» Next (HTML)