"Environment Loses Out in Russia's Race To Sochi"

"Sochi — Just outside the Olympic Park in Sochi, where the Winter Games open on Friday, is a green space with benches, artificial ponds and a couple of hides. 'Ornithological Park', the sign declares. The problem is that there is not a bird in sight in the park, which was set up as a replacement for sensitive wetlands that were covered over for the construction of Games venues."

"'It's a profanation,' said Vladimir Zubakin, president of the Russian Bird Union, of the so-called park."

Maria Antonova reports for AFP February 3, 2014.