Less than a hundred days remain until the International Olympic Committee decides on which city will host the 2014 Winter Olympics, and the Russian contender city of Sochi is trying to prove its environmental credentials.

A new Environmental Council is meeting for the first time and will monitor the impact of new Olympic developments in the Sochi area. The group consists of top government officials, academics and pressure groups such as Greenpeace, and the World Wildlife Fund. 

As Russia’s hoping to host the 2014 winter Olympics and millions are pumped into the town of Sochi, the seaside resort is undergoing some serious changes. Blueprints for new sport and infrastructure facilities have appeared as a part of the special development programme.  

However, that breeds concerns among the ecologists. The area around the projected Olympic venues is known to have several wildlife reserves with many rare species of plant and animals.  

Both Greenpeace and World Wide Fund criticized the initial construction plan, saying that it would put the region’s rich nature under threat.

‘We have serious concerns about the initial construction plans especially in the area of Grushevy Ridge. But, unfortunately, up to this moment our concerns were neither heard nor taken into consideration,’ Igor Chestin, the head of WWF in Russia, said. 

In order to satisfy the demands of green campaigners, Russia’s Ministry of Natural Resources created a special co-ordination Council, which will monitor the impact of new Olympic developments in the Sochi area within the next several months. 

‘Sochi’s wildlife reserves are unique and require serious protection. Not to mention that the International Olympic Committee also has very strict environmental demands. So, everyone involved in this Olympic bid is interested in making everything clear and transparent. That’s why our Council has been created,’ Anatoly Tyomkin, the Deputy Natural Resources Minister, explained. 

There are many different types of measures, undertaken by the Council – from building new ecology centers and rehabilitation clinic for animals to improving the utilisation of the resort’s waste and preventing floods at local rivers. All aimed at one goal – improving the region’s ecology, regardless of whether or not the town wins the bid.

The Council will gather once in a month to discuss the ongoing appraisal of the ecologic situation in Sochi. Ecologists say that its creation is a step forward and their concerns have been heard.