Environmental groups say Munich Olympic plans unsound

BERLIN (Reuters) - An umbrella group of German conservation organizations Monday withdrew from a commission evaluating the Munich 2018 winter Olympics bid, saying the plans were environmentally irresponsible.

The German nature conservation ring (DNR), which represents 96 environmental groups, said the bid's plans to host part of the Games in nearby Garmish-Partenkirchen would damage the environment.

"We consider, after careful examination of the bid files and two long talks with leading bid representatives that the hosting of the Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen with its narrow valleys and its ecologically important areas is irresponsible," DNR General Secretary Helmut Roescheisen told Reuters.

"There is just far too much infrastructure work involved, what with the athletes village, the media village, even the expansion of the skiing slopes, that we just cannot be part of this commission and are dropping out of it."

The commission was established by the Munich bid organizers.

Munich is competing with South Korea's Pyeongchang and France's Annecy for the 2018 Games. The decision will be taken in July next year.

The withdrawal by environmental groups is the latest blow to the troubled bid. It has struggled to get permission to use some land and has faced months of stiff criticism from Bavarian environmental groups and residents.

Bid chief Willy Bogner also resigned from his post last week due to an intestinal illness.

"I know the International Olympic Committee is monitoring the environmental aspects and if we as the German umbrella organization say this is unsound then there is some weight to this," Roescheisen said.

Munich bid officials rejected the DNR criticism and said their plans were sound.

"The vision for an environmentally friendly Games has in no way failed. Quite the opposite," Michael Vesper, head of the Munich 2018 supervisory board, said in a statement.

"This is the the most ambitious environmental concept for an Olympic bid in decades. We will continue working to convince the critics," he said.

(Writing by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Barry Moody; To comment on this story: sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)