Supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Sochi branch of the Russian Geographic Society, the "Attention to the Tortoise" initiative was one of the projects launched.

The project's aim is to help save the 200-million-year-old Nikfolsky tortoise, which is found on the Black Sea coast but is under threat of extinction.

Hundreds of leaflets were handed out to Sochi residents by Games staff, volunteers and the city's Russian Geographic Society workers to raise awareness of their plight.

The tortoise is the second animal that Sochi 2014 has set out to save.

Three years ago it launched a campaign to reintroduce the Persian leopard population back in the Caucasus region after they largely disappeared because of poaching and a shrinking habitat.

The project has included Russian President Vladimir Putin releasing a leopard from Iran into Sochi National Park.

Another green effort – to develop clean nature trails around Sochi by the start of the Games in 2014 – also got underway.

A number of other eco-awareness events were also held in other Russian cities, helped out by Sochi 2014 volunteers.

Sustainability and the environment are key concerns for the Sochi 2014 organisers, with their efforts recognised by the International Standards Organisation (ISO).

Dmitry Chernyshenko, the Sochi 2014 President and chief executive, said: "Environmental recognition, received by the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee today, is proving that we have been able to create the necessary conditions for environmental protection programmes development.

"This once again confirms the organisers' aspiration to create a 'green' legacy that will remain long after the Games for generations to come."

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