Dilmah Conservation partners with IUCN

Dilmah Founder Merrill J. Fernando and IUCN Sri Lanka Country Representative Dr. Ranjith Mahindapala formalized this week, a Memorandum of Understanding which would unite Dilmah Conservation and IUCN in a series of projects designed to promote sustainable human interaction with the environment, protect natural habitats and promote biodiversity.

Dilmah first entered into a partnership with IUCN in 2004, in the aftermath of the December 2004 tsunami which devastated most of Sri Lanka’s coastal areas. Together with Merrill J. Fernando’s MJF Charitable Foundation, the union saw the restoration of livelihoods, emergency medical, nutrition and other forms of assistance as well as a long term commitment to supporting the differently abled, especially children.

Dilmah is a family tea company founded on the philosophy that business is a matter of human service. The Dilmah Founder’s pledge to share the success of his brand Dilmah with the underprivileged, is fulfilled by the charitable foundation that bears his name – the MJF Foundation.

The Dilmah commitment to humanitarian service was extended in 2007 with the formation of Dilmah Conservation, with the involvement of IUCN. The rationale for this development was that humanitarian service and the welfare of underprivileged communities are inextricably linked with the state of their environment. Dilmah Conservation was established with specific alignment towards promoting biodiversity, species and habitat protection as well as promoting sustainable human interaction with the environment.

The combination of the Dilmah commitment to the environment with a humanitarian service orientation and IUCN’s objective in the conservation of nature have been potent in helping underprivileged communities in ecologically sensitive areas. The two pronged approach – addressing humanitarian issues whilst promoting sustainable agricultural practice and the conservation of nature – has been markedly more effective than a purely conservation oriented approach.

As Dilmah Founder Merrill J. Fernando commented at the inception of this partnership, “You cannot ask a hungry person to forego his livelihood in the interests of protecting the nature.”

Towards a better life for all – Dilmah-IUCN Partnerships

The humanitarian service activities and work of the MJF Charitable Foundation and Dilmah Conservation in the sensitive Knuckles Conservation Area, strongly supported IUCN’s Forest Governance objectives. In addressing the economic and social issues that the community faced, Dilmah was able to support IUCN’s efforts at encouraging the local communities to adopt sustainable agricultural practices. This project was one amongst eight that were highlighted at IUCN’s World Congress in 2008.

IUCN and Dilmah Conservation envisage a series of programmes under the Memorandum of Understanding. These will encompass the promotion of biodiversity, cultivation of medicinal plants, assisting isolated, remote and marginalized communities in adopting sustainable practices including rainwater harvesting, home gardening and waste recycling. The partnership also aims to address issues of resource utilization and conservation by establishing centres for the demonstration of sustainable agricultural practice.

IUCN is a union of sovereign states, government agencies, international agencies, non- governmental organizations and affiliates founded in 1948. Its mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world in conserving the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is acquitable and ecologically sustainable. The IUCN’s Sri Lanka operation commenced in 1986 and to date has twelve enlisted members including four government and eight NGO members. Its position is strengthened by the presence of members representing IUCN’s six commissions, notably the Species Survival Commission, the Commission on Education and Communication, the Commission on Environmental Law, the Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy, and the World Commission on Protected Areas.

The Memorandum of Understanding that Dilmah and IUCN have entered into will provide the framework for a series of projects aimed at promoting conservation of nature through sustainable human interaction with the environment and doing so whilst integrating a humanitarian service element into each.

ENDS

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