The Chinese Red Army's long march of 1934 is legendary. Soldiers marched over 10,000 km and stepped onto a new chapter of China's history.

Today, a "Green Long March" campaign is underway across China, encouraging university students to embark on marches to promote and draw attention to environmental protection issues.

"The program was named after the Long March. It indicates that it will be a long and arduous march to change the environment and to make it sustainable," says Frances Fremont-Smith, initiator of "Green Long March" and executive director of the US-based non-profit organization, Future Generations China.

Green program

The green program was launched in early 2007 by Future Generations China and the Beijing Forestry University, with the support of the State Forestry Administration, and has become an annual event.

University students march across the country in summer holidays to document conservation efforts at the grass-roots level and raise awareness of worsening environmental degradation. It has become the largest youth conservation movement in China.

Last year, 2,000 students from 43 universities formed relay teams and traveled by train and foot along 10 routes including Grand Canel, Northeastern Forests, Grasslands, and other routes to encourage environmental conservation in 22 provinces and 26 national nature preserves in China.

During the course of The Green Long March, students exchanged environmental conservation ideas with approximately 75,000 people from universities, schools, communities and government bureaus.

Among its many activities, the project included the planting of a million trees, and surveying of hundreds of local environmental successes as well as areas which needed improvement in China. An estimated 9.75 million people were indirectly affected through this environmental education campaign.

And this year's event will be larger with more students and universities involved, Fremont-Smith tells China Business Weekly. This year students will march 2008 km in the event, which according to Fremont-Smith will continue to see up-scaling given efforts from various fields and increased awareness of environmental protection in China, she says.

Wang Yingfeng, a student from Beijing Forestry University, took part in the march in 2007 and marched for 16 days from Jining in Shandong province to Sugan in Jiangsu province, as part of the Grand Canal route.

Wang and six other students marched during the day and spent nights at village committees along the route. When they arrived at the committee, they gave lectures on environmental protection to villagers, answered questions and campaigned to the local people.

"We brought lots of related materials with us, so we had to carry heavy packs, which weighed usually around 30 kg. We walked under a 30 centigrade burning sun," recalls the 19-year-old student.

"People along the Bejing-Hangzhou Canal had realized the serious pollution problems, but they did not know what to do to prevent it and improve the environment. They told us our lectures and discussions with them were really helpful," he said. He believes that the march is rewarding and worthy spiritually.

But the march is also a unique and effective model of for environmental protection as it is a collaboration between non-governmental organizations (NGOs), educational institutions, government agencies, and corporate sponsors.

"Active involvements of enterprises help start up the green cause and its continuous development," Fremont-Smith says.

Corporate involvement

Goldman Sachs, the world leading investment banking, securities and investment management firm, sponsors the Grand Canal route, which is along the longest ancient canal in the world with total length at 1,764 km.

It extends from Beijing and Tianjin municipalities to Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces, and links Haihe River, Yellow River, Huaihe River, Yangtze River and Qiantangjiang River.

The sponsorship provides funding for conservation training, surveys on conservation initiatives, uniforms and equipment, food, transportation and a campaign to increase public awareness of the project.

Though the company will not disclose how much it spent on the program and how much more it is willing to invest, it said that supporting the Green Long March is really meaningful and the company would offer financial help to the cause in the long run.

This year's Grand Canal march started on June 5 on World Environment Day, in Tongzhou, where the canal starts.

"Actually sponsorship of the program is a natural extension of our global environmental framework," indicates Christopher Keogh, managing director and senior advisor to the chairman of Gao Hua Securities Company Ltd, Goldman Sachs strategic partner in China.

He says Goldman Sachs believes that a healthy environment is necessary for the well-being of society, its people and its business, and is the foundation for a sustainable and strong economy.

The company established the Goldman Sachs Environmental Policy Framework in November 2005, which embodies the philosophy that capital markets can and should play an important role in addressing today's environmental challenges.

"We are working to ensure that our people, capital and ideas are used to help find effective market-based solutions to address climate change, ecosystem degradation and other critical environmental issues," says Keogh, adding that the company has invested $2 billion over the last three years in various related projects.

He tells China Business Weekly that Gao Hua sponsored last year's Green Long March. He himself participated in last year's ceremony and event and was deeply impressed by the students' passion and dedication to the green cause.

"Youths spent their holidays carrying heavy packs and walking in hot weather to do things for environment. They should be proud of themselves," says Keogh.

Sources from Future Generations China say that a group of corporations such as Swire, Yahoo and Starbucks, are also involved.

(China Daily June 24, 2008)