CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION – THE DILMAH CONTRIBUTION

(Excerpted from the Merrill. J. Fernando autobiography)

Worldwide, the observed impacts of climate change are driving a multiplicity of conservation and mitigation strategies. Climate change is a gradually-evolving disaster which may not be reversible. However, there is much that man can do to mitigate its impact.

To combat climate change, one must be able to evaluate its progress and impact scientifically. One of the major technical contributions from Dilmah to the cause of managing climate change was to establish a Climate Research Station, the first of its kind in the world by a private entity, at Queensberry Estate, Upper Kotmale. This self-sustained research centre, located at the highest point on one of Kahawatte Plantations estates, was launched in December 2017, in collaboration with the Foundation for Environment, Climate and Technology (FELT) and the University of Peradeniya.

Since commencement, the centre has collaborated with global scientific institutions and researchers in Japan and UK, whilst providing research facilities for a number of climate scientists and research projects in Sri Lanka.

Dilmah Conservation initiated its Climate Reality program in collaboration with the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) Sri Lanka, to establish an interdisciplinary association among academics, government, and business, in order to understand the profound implications of climate change and the challenges that it poses, not just to enterprise but to the entire planet. Such an alliance among different concerned groups is expected to bring to the table, practical solutions to emerging climate and weather-related problems. Climate-smart technology and innovative agricultural strategies are the need of the hour and without a combined effort, the future of our agriculture will be at serious risk. Dilmah Conservation also supports the Bio-Diversity Sri Lanka initiative, established in collaboration with the IUCN and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

Dilmah and carbon imprint

Carbon and other greenhouse gas emission, considered to be key factors influencing climate change, are generally associated with human interventions on land. In 2017, Dilmah tea achieved Carbon Neutral status for the production facility, and for the complete product range in 2018. Thus, along with its commitment to purity and singularity of origin, Dilmah assures its consumer an environmentally-friendly tea. By 2019 the Dilmah Carbon Neutral status had been extended to its Australian market, right up to the supermarket shelf.

It is my pledge, for both my country and my company, that Dilmah will be Carbon Negative by 2030.

Along with my commitment to reducing our carbon footprint, at Dilmah we have launched a number of initiatives to reduce plastic usage, whilst in other areas of society, especially along our beaches, supporting ongoing programmes for the removal of plastic waste.

Endana nature corridor

Earlier in this chapter and elsewhere in this writing as well, I have spoken of the impact that the mono-culture of our main plantation crops – tea and rubber – have had on the environment. Over the decades, the steady expansion of tea cultivation in particular has resulted in both the reduction of forest cover and the isolation of forest patches, thus confining both indigenous fauna and flora to highly-restricted and rapidly-diminishing habitats. Human activity on the peripheries, though often driven by basic commercial needs, has steadily eroded natural forest cover all over the country. In the low country especially, with its highly-diminished natural forest cover and the largely-unregulated expansion of privately-owned tea plantations, in proximity to the few existing natural forest patches, the danger to both indigenous fauna and flora is a stark reality.

In my view, that is an area in which plantation owners can make the biggest contribution in the cause of conservation, given that we have control over the land, the crops, the people of the plantations, and the crop and land management practices that we employ in our cultivation.

Endana Estate, a flagship tea plantation in the Kahawatte region of Kahawatte Plantations, is located in close proximity to the Sinharaja Rain Forest. On most sides it is bounded by natural forest, whilst its tea cultivation also serves to separate and isolate natural forest patches, as is the case on many plantations in Sri Lanka, especially in the low country. In view of these wide-ranging and environmentally-significant features, we considered Endana as a logical location for a unique Bio-Diversity Conservation initiative.

Conservation and enrichment of our No-diversity; the mandate of Dilmah Conservation

On January 1, 2018, I formally uprooted a handful of precious tea bushes in field No. 3 of Delwala division, and planted a few indigenous forest trees, as a first step to opening a three-kilometre-long nature corridor, between Delwalakande and Walankande, two forested mountain ranges separated from each other by the Endana Estate. The objective was to eventually provide a natural forest corridor reconnecting the two topographies, thus enabling the migration of both fauna and flora between the two, whilst re-establishing the contiguity of natural forest with the southern border of the Sinharaja Reserve.

On lines similar to the Endana Nature Corridor, Dilmah Conservation had earlier launched a similar project in Batticaioa; its arid, harsh climate so different from the green, rain-fed richness of Endana. The environment of Batticaloa has been largely denuded by two natural disasters within 30 years and, according to research, needs a minimum of 150 sq. km of forest cover to reverse the adverse effects. Dilmah devised a dual purpose strategy – that of providing green cover along with a community livelihood through the planting of cashew trees across thousands of small gardens and farms, reaching the target of one million trees within 10 years.

Animal sanctuary

All over the world, there is much attention paid to the fate and conservation of the larger, more charismatic animals, as both in natural forests and reserves they are the most visible and the most exciting. However, unnoticed, many species of smaller creatures, many of them important links at the lower end of the bio-diversity network, are diminishing in numbers and, in some cases, vanishing all together, often unnoticed and unreported.

Sri Lanka is home to about 120 amphibian species, of which 105 are endemic. That means they are not found anywhere else in the world and that degree of endemism makes Sri Lanka one of the most diverse Amphibian hotspots of the world: In August 2019, I signed a memorandum of agreement with the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (UK) and Global Wildlife Conservation. Dilmah Conservation has undertaken to work towards assessing the conservation status of Sri Lankan amphibians, through an extinction risk-assessment for every species on the IUCN Red List. An amazing and disturbing statistic which I became aware of as a consequence of this program is that of the 35 species of frogs and toads now globally extinct, 21 belonged to Sri Lanka – certainly not a record to be proud of!

Dilmah Conservation also curated an open air Butterfly Garden at the Moratuwa MJF Centre, creating a bio-diversity haven in a completely urban setting, reinforcing the very important principle that nature conservation does not need to be confined to jungles and game parks. I understand that of the 247 species of butterflies in Sri Lanka, 60 have been identified at the Moratuwa Butterfly Garden.

Of the many accolades that the famous All Black, Sir Graham Henry, has received in an outstanding career, both as a rugby player and then a coach, the most unusual must be having a baby elephant named after him. Sir Henry has for long been a supporter of Dilmah tea. One of the baby elephants at the Uda Walawe Elephant Transit Home, sponsored by Dilmah, was named ‘Ted’ in honour of Sir. Graham. In order to bring about public awareness to the human-elephant conflict, Dilmah Conservation maintains an Information Centre at the Transit Home.

Marine conservation is another area that Dilmah has been active in. Marine systems are far more fragile than terrestrial eco-systems. As an island, with the sea being a primary source of food and for livelihoods along the coast, maintaining the ecological equilibrium of the sea around us should be a primary concern for all citizens. In collaboration with the Department of Wildlife, Dilmah Conservation documented the coral reefs and shipwrecks in some of our eastern and northern coastal areas, particularly Kayankerni. That initiative led to Kayankerni eventually being declared a Protected Area, under the auspices of the Marine Environmental Protection Authority of Sri Lanka.

Preserving traditional knowledge

At the beginning of this narrative I said that my ancestors were engaged in the practice of Ayurveda, our ancient system of medical care. As a youth I still recall its efficacy. I believe that that there is much that the Western discipline can learn from our traditional, non-intrusive methods of healing. As Dilmah’s contribution to the preservation of this age-old system, Dilmah Conservation, after extensive research, published the ‘Hela Veda Athpotha’ (Handbook on Traditional Home Remedies)

International recognition

Amongst the 15 international presentations selected by the United States Committee of the International Committee on Monuments and Sites (US/ICOMOS), in regard to the impact of Corporate Sector Involvement in Heritage Conservation, was a case study on Dilmah. The latter was presented at the ICOMOS symposium titled `Forward Together, A Culture-Nature Journey towards More Effective Conservation in a Changing World,’ held in San Francisco, USA, in November 2018.

At the symposium, Dilhan read a paper themed, ‘Stewardship of Bio-Cultural Landscapes in the 21st Century; the Role of Traditions Knowledge and Practices,’ which explored the Dilmah involvement in cultural and natural heritage conservation, exemplified by Dilmah Conservation publications on ‘Veddahs’ and ‘Ahikuntikas,’ two culturally-distinctive sub-communities of our country, now confronted with possible extinction through the loss of traditional homelands, the shedding of age-old cultural practices, and also the gradual assimilation of its members in to the majority social groups.

Environmental protection – corporate advocacy and public awareness

I am a firm believer of the maxim that if the message is important, it must be effectively delivered to all concerned. Whilst entrepreneur do what is possible within their corporate ambit, the message of the importance of environmental protection must be conveyed to the public as well. In this, education becomes a vital component and education is most effective, when children learn it and carry the message through their lifetimes, whilst ensuring its transmission to subsequent generations as well.

Awareness building has not been confined to nature only, but has been extended to the celebration of some of our special indigenous communities as well. Dilmah Conservation facilitated the first communal gathering in 60 years of the Gypsy (Ahikuntika) community and a similar tribal gathering between the eastern coast Veddah community with other members of the group.

Dilmah Conservation has so far published around 15 books, many of them providing detailed descriptions in an easy-to-absorb visual style of our island’s fauna and flora, authored by the leading national experts in the country in the respective disciplines. This highly-diverse collection ranges from butterflies to bats, snakes to dragonflies, and birds and spiders to lichens.

Education, awareness, and advocacy are indispensable in spreading the message of conservation and all three aspects of the initiative must move as a united front for maximum effectiveness. Reinforced by the sponsorship of my Charitable Foundation, I am proud of the brilliant synergy Dilmah Conservation has created, harnessing scientific expertise and community enthusiasm to ensure sustainable results.

The genesis project

In the preceding pages of this chapter I have emphasized the Dilmah commitment to conservation, which is a cornerstone of the sustainability of any enterprise, particularly one such as Dilmah, with its connectivity to and dependence on land and agriculture. It also must be abundantly clear to any forward-thinking entrepreneur that for agriculture to be a success in the coming decades, harnessing new technology to tradition will be a prerequisite. Also clear is that for any business to be sustainable, irrespective of the nature of the enterprise, it must establish a harmonious relationship with the environment.

On May 6, 2022, symbolically on my 92nd birthday, I declared open the Genesis Project, the latest initiative, by Dilmah Conservation for the promotion of sustainable and ethical enterprise. Equally symbolically, the location of the project’s activities will be the Maligawatte complex, which saw the genesis of ‘Dilmah’ in 1985.

The Genesis Project is a multi-pronged initiative with the core purpose of promoting agri-entrepreneurship, with emphasis on the importance of nature-based solutions and supporting society development goals, whilst safeguarding human well-being in a manner that accurately reflects cultural and societal values. In furtherance of these objectives, it aims to provide different stakeholders and institutes a platform to network and lobby for wide-ranging public interest purposes, which will benefit both people and planet.

The list of those who are expected to participate and contribute – such as the Climate Change Secretariat, Biodiversity Secretariat, Chamber of Commerce, Biodiversity Sri Lanka, the Central Environmental Authority, and other connected Government and private bodies – is a clear indication of the project’s emphasis on establishing both a synergy and a symbiosis between business, environment, and society.

In broad terms, the Genesis Project will seek to encourage and support eco-businesses, provide a knowledge hub for agri-technology, promote renewable energy, educate, mentor, and empower and also provide a common platform to all stakeholders, and advisory and regulatory institutes, for knowledge-sharing and merging of agendas with common interests. The project office provides space for a business operations hub, a demonstration station, and physical space for vendors, entrepreneurs, potential investors, and related State and private agencies to connect and interact. There is also provision for a library and the conducting of training programs.

Consistent with the purpose and the moral of the project, the whole Genesis Project space will showcase green building concepts in the design of the premises. It will ensure the efficient use of energy, water, and space, the minimization of pollution and waste, and promotion of good indoor environmental air quality.

The dedication of the project, with the philosophy engraved on a piece of upcycled wood sourced from a rafter discarded from the Conservation’s One Earth Centre in Moratuwa, speaks eloquently to the Dilmah business ethic, which is also my personal credo.