Global Sports Forum: Is the sporting movement in Russia (officials, athletes and grassroots) sensitive to environmental issues?
Sergey Tsyplenkov: I don’t think the people in charge of Russian sport are aware of these issues. That doesn’t mean to say they don’t want to consider them, just that they don’t really understand them. I think the same thing can be said about some of the people running the international federations. The situation is different among athletes and ordinary people who play sport, especially youngsters. There are some very well known athletes who take part in environmental initiatives, and many young people are committed to protecting the environment, though I wouldn’t say it was their main priority.
That’s understandable perhaps. Do you think there are natural ties between sport and the environment? Do they lend themselves to cooperation?
Absolutely. Elite sports persons are idols to young generations. If they can commit themselves to living a healthy life without taking drugs or smoking, then I don’t see why they can’t promote a more environmentally aware, sustainable and responsible way of life? Major sporting events such as the Olympic Games or the football World Cup can provide models and benchmarks designed at each level in line with the strictest environmental standards in areas such as construction, transport, facilities for the public, etc. That would help improve the standard of living in lots of countries, though it wouldn’t change things an awful lot in other places. Yet, at the very least it would reduce the carbon footprint of these events. Obviously it would be ideal if this concern for the environment were a feature not just of global events but of all sporting events, including local ones.
Can you give us a specific example of the cooperation between these areas in Russia?
As I said before, mainly initiatives on the ground, some of which don’t get any publicity. I think the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi represent the best opportunity in this respect but things aren’t looking that great right now. I get the feeling the authorities are doing everything they can to mess things up.
We don’t know that much about Greenpeace’s work on the ground in Russia. Is it working closely with the sporting movement?
We are not working enough with sports persons and we have to get involved at Sochi 2014. We get support from leading sportsmen and women and some of them take part in our activities. Last year one of Russia’s best-known footballers supported our campaign against incinerators and another gave his backing to our Kids for Forests initiative. I’m sad to say, though, that Russian athletes aren’t doing enough for the environment and this isn’t the first time I’ve said that.
RUSSIA IS A BIG COUNTRY IN MANY WAYS
Russia is a major sporting nation. Is it an environmentally aware nation?
Russia is a big country in many ways. It’s the biggest country in the world in terms of land mass. Also most of the planet’s major forests are in Russia, and it’s home to the largest natural spaces with virgin ecosystems, the largest frozen lakes, etc.
There is also a massive amount of pollution.
That’s right. It is one of the biggest carbon dioxide emitters and it probably suffers more forest fires than any other country in the world. Illegal deforestation in some regions is scandalous, toxic pollution is common and some areas of the country are among the most polluted on the planet. Russia is also the only country in the world that willingly accepts radioactive waste from abroad. France, for example, is about to send a shipment of waste to Siberia.
Let’s go back to the matter in hand. Environmental groups in western Europe sometimes voice their opposition to sporting projects such as new race tracks or ski runs built especially for major events. Is that also the case in Russia?
Yes. One of the best examples I can give you here is the opposition to the Olympics in Sochi. There are some environmentalists who are opposed to all types of sporting events. Others were against the Games taking place in Sochi because most of the infrastructures were to be built in a national park, and there were some who objected only to the location of some of the facilities. The Games have brought all those groups together because the authorities have failed to keep their promises.
“I DON’T BELIEVE THAT A SPORTING EVENT HAS TO BE ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL BY NATURE”
What is your personal opinion?
I don’t believe that a sporting event has to be anti-environmental by nature. The real questions are “where” and “how” the event is planned. I’m convinced that in most cases it is possible to answer these questions without harming nature.
Adventure sports are enjoying a boom in the west. What do you think about that trend and is the same thing likely to happen in Russia?
Let me tell you something. When I was a student at Moscow University in the 1980s, do you know what the most popular sports were?
No.
Canyoning, trekking and rafting. I remember at the start of the school holidays, in early May, the rivers around Moscow were always busy with people canyoning, so busy in fact that it was almost impossible to find a place to pitch your tent. They were all taken.
Why was that?
There were lots of reasons I think. One of them was that people just wanted to get out of the city, even if only for the weekend.
Going back to the Sochi Games, do you think they will meet the sustainable development criteria demanded by the International Olympic Committee?
At the moment, no. The official line is positive but there are still problems with the location of some facilities, although we have managed to get some of them moved. Illegal felling remains a problem and at the end of last year a law was amended to allow the cutting of threatened species provided that you can prove the trees are being cut for the needs of the Olympic Games. That hasn’t stopped the organisers from claiming that the Games will meet the highest “green” standards in terms of construction or that they will go “Zero Waste”.
“WE’VE PERSUADED THE SOCHI 2014 ORGANISERS TO GO AND VISIT VANCOUVER"
What is your view of the Vancouver Olympics? The Organising Committee is hoping to stage the greenest Games in Olympic history.
I heard them say that and we have persuaded the Sochi 2014 organisers to go to Canada so they can find out about their methods, specifically their goal to be carbon neutral. I don’t have enough information to be able to say any more though.
Some personal questions now. You have led a few expeditions in your time. What kind of expeditions were they?
Scientific and environmental ones looking at the issues of reforestation and the creation of national parks, etc.
Where did the expeditions take place?
Around Lake Baikal, in northern Russia, in the far east of the country and in the Caucasus.
You are a great football lover. What position did you play in?
I was never a professional player you know. I played for fun for my university team. I used to play centre-forward or as a playmaker.
What are the reasons behind your commitment to the environment?
It all started when I was a student. I studied geography and I wanted to see and above all understand the reasons why nature is so beautiful and yet so fragile at the same time.
What are the major threats to sport at this moment in time?
There are two in my opinion. Doping, first of all, and then business, which are both linked in my mind. The business aspect is dependent upon entertainment. Some people see doping as a way of responding to that demand. You can see another possible by-product in the big professional sports in the USA such as hockey and basketball. They’re becoming less and less like sport and more and more like showbusiness. Happily it’s a different story in Europe, and that includes football, although money is playing an increasingly important role.
Why does sport generate hope?
Because of the people who go and watch it.
+++Segey TSYPLENKOV
