UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the decision of the Russian government to relocate Olympic facilities in Sochi from an environmentally protected area.

"I am also encouraged that the Russian Government, in preparing for the 2014 winter games in Sochi, has already responded to a recommendation from UNEP to relocate facilities away from a protected wilderness area," Ban Ki-moon told the delegates of the 13th Olympic congress in Copenhagen.

In its final report on the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, the United Nations Environment Programme confirmed in June that the proposed construction of bobsleigh tracks and an Olympic village on the Grushevy Ridge could cause environmental damage to the mountainous conservation area.

Environmental groups said earlier this year that the planned bobsleigh route running along the border of the Caucasus Nature Reserve was one of the most harmful Olympic projects. Other top concerns were the alpine Olympic village and a rail link in the region, classified by UNESCO as the only mountainous area in Europe that remains virtually undamaged by humans.

In early July Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the facilities should be relocated from the Grushevy Ridge to a different place.

The Secretary general also thanked Vancouver and London for their commitment to "greening" the games they will host next year and in 2012, respectively.
sections: Society