Green Train

Green Olympics Train to the Southwest--a Public Biodiversity Education Project

Environmental protection is one of the country's fundamental policies. The environmental condition of the nation's railroads has become a significant issue during the past few years as more people take notice of the deteriorating situation. This campaign seeks to establish a network of green railways crisscrossing the country and has already received cooperation from the Railway Ministry.

The Green Olympics Train seeks to preserve biodiversity in China's Southwest through public education campaigns to promote green living and green consumption. These measures, along with publicity for ecotourism in the region are targeted at various administrative levels to promote ecological and environmental education. This project is designed to intentionally coincide with the government's “Green Olympic” campaign in order to take advantage of current attention given to environmental protection. The next several years leading up to the Olympics will provide us with worthwhile opportunities to publicize environmental education in sensitive regions like the Southwest, where biodiversity is threatened by reckless development.

The central premise of the project is to increase attention for particular hotspots of biodiversity while helping to discourage travelers from engaging in lawless and unsustainable consumption patterns. The project also seeks to “train the trainers” by carrying out environmental education sessions for railroad employees to increase the environmental consciousness of the entire railroad system – from train attendants to management.

The general form of the campaign involves selecting a suitable train to function as a classroom for green learning. This particular train will begin educating passengers on regional biodiversity and increase their knowledge of the environment while helping them to understand the role they play as individuals. The long-distance train T61, which runs from Beijing to Kunming, in Yunnan Province, was chosen to help serve as an ambassador of environmental education in the southwest. Other benefits of this train journey include adequate daylight allowing time for promotion of biodiversity and environmental protection. Additionally, passenger demand is comparably less and we have secured NGO cooperation in the region in order to help us carry out education onboard the train.

Aside from NGO cooperation, GVB has obtained support from the Railway Ministry which has agreed to the following ten-point plan which includes measures for a “Green Train” campaign adhering to a set of regulations.

•  Train employees must use wastebaskets and properly dispose of waste in plastic bags. Throwing garbage from the train is forbidden.

•  Train employees must patiently instruct passengers that violate regulations.

•  Restrooms shall be locked before the train arrives at a station in order to decrease human waste pollution at train stations.

•  Smoking is prohibited in train cars and train attendants are also prohibited from smoking in order to establish a precedent.

•  The train broadcast will publicize environmental protection and education as well as promote green travel and green lifestyles.

•  Food and snacks like instant noodles served on trains often come in indisposable containers that contribute to the problem of waste and should be minimized.

•  Posting environmentally themed posters and slogans inside train cars will leave passengers with a sense of environmental responsibility long after they have arrived at their destination.

•  Employees should have some knowledge of environmental protection for the benefit of passengers.

•  Administer proper punishments to employees that violate train restrictions and make clear the consequences for continued disobedience.

•  Simple garbage sorting and proper disposal of used batteries should occur in all air-conditioned train cars.

Within the next eight years, we hope to have more than 300 trains, 120 stations, 1200 schools, 31 provinces as well as numerous municipalities and domestic news companies all participating in this effort. Environmental protection amounts to a network of projects demanding participation from all directions as well as a consistent effort from all parties. In the future we look to train employees to build and maintain a rail network based on environmentally sound practices.

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