Dilmah & the Environment

The Ceylon Tea industry is rich with tradition and was commended by the World Health Organization for producing the ‘cleanest tea’ in the world. This means judicious and careful use of fertilizer and other inputs, well within international standards. Dilmah tea gardens take additional precautions however with a biodiversity and medicinal plant programme which is designed to enhance the diversity of traditional plant species on our gardens. The project also involves growing traditional medicinal plant species which traditional ayurvedic physicians use in the preparation of their medicines.

In 2006 Dilmah announced the launch of Dilmah Conservation which extended to the environment, the social justice obligations that is fulfilled through the MJF Foundation. Dilmah Conservations is working with IUCN, the World Conservation Union, on a landmark Arboretum project. This project will see the introduction of traditional and vulnerable or disappearing plant species, and facilitate biodiversity and forest research, whilst exploring ways for humans to co-exist more equally with nature.

The project has a human dimension where the Arboretum will offer research and practical demonstration of sustainable co-existence of agriculture and human habitation, without the associated devastation of forests and nature. The project will be a centre for the study and practical demonstration of a symbiotic existence of man and nature in rural Sri Lanka. It has the objective of imparting through understanding, a greater respect amongst traditional, rural Sri Lankans, of nature and showing them how man and nature could c-exist peacefully and to mutual benefit.

Dilmah Conservation is also working with the Department of Wildlife Conservation and IUCN, the World Conservation Union in helping save the Asian elephant in Sri Lanka. The elephant is a victim of the Human Elephant conflict which Is a result of increasing competition amongst a growing population of people and a dwindling number of elephants. The result has been disastrous impact on elephants with daily deaths due to mutual misunderstanding between man and elephant.

The Dilmah Conservation initiative will help protect, feed and nurture baby elephants orphaned by the conflict, securing the future of elephants in the wild, and aid greater understanding amongst humans, of the elephant, its caring and gentle nature and the possibility of peaceful co-existence.