Moscow Times’ Green on Green site reports on Local Environmental Impact
The Moscow Times, in cooperation with Vedomosti has launched expanded bilingual environmental coverage through a new web site, Green on Green. With support from the Internews Earth Journalism Network (EJN), the site is an effort to raise consciousness about the enormous ecological and environmental challenges Russia is facing, actions being taken to both improve and exacerbate the situation, and the players involved.
Roland Oliphant of the Moscow Times says the ability to focus resources on environmental coverage has been critical. “While the Moscow Times has always tried to cover the big environmental stories, of which there are no shortage in Russia, we have never before had a dedicated environmental news page.”
As Russia becomes wealthier, new environmental challengers are emerging every day. From offshore oil and gas development in the Arctic to the clearing of forests to make way for new roads, homes and factories, no region of Russia is without some environmental controversy. In 2010, tensions over one story – the Khimki forest road – became one of the hottest political topics in the country. This year a similar protest movement against nickel mining in the Voronezh region is has made headlines. And just recently Greenpeace international targeted Gazprom's Prirazlomnaya oil platform – a flagship project for Russia's Arctic development.
The EJN grant allows the Times to cover stories from well beyond Moscow, sending correspondents or using local freelance reporters. Oliphant points to a critical contribution from an Irkutsk-based freelancer, Alexandra Poblinkova, to cover the challengers facing Lake Baikal. “In such a vast country, we are not always able to get as close to the stories as we would like, and the local knowledge Alexandra was able to bring gave us a valuable insight on the state of affairs around Russia's most famous natural wonder,” said Oliphant.
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